


From the Mind of a Child

by emilyslist



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Brave Frisk, Child Frisk, Childhood Memories, Flavor Text Narrator Chara, Gen, Gender-Neutral Frisk, I'm Bad At Tagging, Neutral Route, Non-Evil Chara, Nonbinary Chara and Frisk, POV Frisk, Realistic Child, Retelling, True Pacifist Retelling, True Pacifist Route, for now at least haha
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2018-12-06 06:04:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 71,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11594457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emilyslist/pseuds/emilyslist
Summary: My take on Frisk's inner monologue as they navigate through the Underground. Essentially a retelling of the story with slightly more character, some more actions, more facial expressions, and the realistic (somewhat) thoughts of a young child on an adventure. I take a few personal liberties with my headcanons of their previous life, etc, but hey, that's what fanfiction is for!





	1. Ruins Part 1

You do  _ not  _ wake with a big gasp, as you had expected, but rather with a small moan. You feel like you did when you flew off the swing that one time on the playground and landed on your tummy. Teacher said that you had the “wind knocked out of you,” and you didn’t know what it meant, but it sounded right.

 

This doesn’t feel quite as bad, though. When you flew off the swing, you’d landed on the gravel with a  _ crunch _ and scraped up your hands and knees and were picking little bits of rock out of your clothes for hours. Now, you are lying on a bed of surprisingly soft and vibrant golden flowers. They must have broken your fall. Hopefully, you will only need to pick a few yellow petals out of your hair after this.

 

Rolling over onto your back, you look up. The hole you fell through seems absolutely tiny, and you know that that means it is very far away. The walls are smooth. No way to climb them. You feel like you should be more scared. Maybe the flowers are calming you down.

 

Shakily, you get to your feet. Nothing is broken or bruised, at least not that you can tell, but your wind hasn’t seem to have come back yet. You take a few breaths and look around some more, and notice that you are still holding your stick. You had been using it to hike the mountain. You’re glad it isn’t broken; you have chosen a good stick. The band-aid from the cut you got on your chin from the playground didn’t fall off either. Could you really have fallen that far? Is this the real Mt. Ebott, or is this some kind of… fake one, maybe?

 

You shake your head. It took a long time to climb. No way anyone would make a fake mountain that big.

 

In front of the little patch of flowers where you’ve landed is a path leading to what looks like a doorway. Maybe there are stairs through there. You start walking towards it and notice the small symbol on top.

 

As you walk through the doorway, you can see another small patch of green surrounded by brown. In the center of the patch is a large yellow flower, like a sunflower, but with a white face. A… face with a smile. A smiling flower. 

 

You don’t know what it is, but something deep in your tummy feels wrong. You remember watching the older kids at the home playing a game where happy, smiling clowns beat people up, and for some reason you can’t shake the feeling that this flower has the same smile as those clowns.

 

“Howdy!”

 

You raise your eyebrows and jump a little as the flower greets you in a high-pitched voice. You say nothing.

 

“I’m Flowey. Flowey the flower!” It introduces itself. One of the clowns in the game was called Clowny the Clown.

 

“Hmmm....” Flowey looks you up and down. You hope you don’t look scared. “You’re new to the underground, aren’tcha?” 

 

It seems to be waiting for a response. You give a tiny nod.

 

“Golly, you must be so confused. Someone oughta teach you how things work around here!”

 

What things?

 

“I guess little old me will have to do.” Flowey the flower winks and sparkles come out of his eyes. Clowny the Clown used firecracker sparkles to hurt people.

 

“Ready? Here we go!”

 

Suddenly, you feel the ground disappear. Your shirt becomes transparent, and looking down at the middle of your chest you can see a glowing red heart. Your arms and legs have gone transparent as well, and you are floating in midair. You stretch your arm to the right, and the heart moves, dragging the rest of you with it. Stretching your arms and legs in different directions yields similar results, but you can’t move out of the white lines of the box that has suddenly appeared.

 

“See that heart? That is your soul. The very culmination of your being!”

 

Hmmm. That seems pretty important. You guess that’s why the box is there.

 

“Your soul starts off weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV!” 

 

Oh, that actually makes sense. In the clown game, LV stood for level, and the higher it was, the better you fought. Was the underground like a video game?

 

“What’s LV stand for? Why, LOVE, of course!”

 

That uneasy feeling sets in again. You don’t think that’s what LV stands for, but you decide it’s best to keep quiet.

 

“You want some LOVE, don’t you?”

 

You’re not sure you do.

 

“Don’t worry, I’ll share some with you!” Flowey winks again.

 

You’re not sure you want that.

 

“Down here, LOVE is shared through… little white… friendliness pellets.” 

 

How stupid does this flower think you are...? Of course, the glint in its eye is scaring you a bit...

 

“Ready? Move around! Catch as many as you can!”

 

Tiny white things come flying at your heart—relatively slowly, but fast enough so that you leap out of the way immediately. You wish your heart moved faster, like as fast as your actual heart is beating.

 

“Hey, buddy… you missed them.” Flowey seems to be talking… slower, or something. You can’t quite place it. “Let’s try again, okay?”

 

The white things come whizzing at you again. You scramble for the edge of the box.

 

Flowey’s expression has changed. He looks almost disgusted. “Is this a joke? Are you braindead?” Something cold drops into your stomach. For the first time, you wish you were back at the home in bed. “Run. Into. The. BULLE—friendliness pellets.”

 

The pellets seem to move more quickly this time, or maybe you are moving more slowly. Regardless, you manage to dodge them for a third time.

 

Flowey’s face melts into itself like a rotting Halloween pumpkin. You take in a deep breath of air and try not to cry. You can dodge those pellets—bullets—for as long as it takes for you to get away or something. You can’t be scared of a  _ flower _ !

 

However, his next sentence challenges your assertion of bravery. “ _You know what’s going on here, don’t you_?” His voice sounds like three of him are speaking at once and they all have terribly sore throats. “ _You just wanted to see me suffer._ _In this world, it’s kill or be killed. Why would anyone pass up an opportunity like this?_ ”

 

Before you can react, a ring of the bullets surrounds your heart, just touching the edges of the box. You’re still trying not to cry, but it’s getting harder. You hope that this is just a dream and that you’ll wake up back on the mountain and go back to the home and play on the playground and—

 

“ _ DIE. _ ”

 

The ring of bullets begins closing in on you. You hold your hands over your head and curl up into a ball. His laugh echoes in your ears like a broken music box.

Suddenly, the bullets disappear. You blink. So does Flowey. He looks just as confused as you do. Before either of you can react further, you see something like a fireball fly towards Flowey and knock him far away.

 

You uncover your head, wishing you could stop trembling. You hear soft footsteps that sound like someone running with slippers on. Looking up, you see their source.

 

A tall creature covered in white fur stands before you. It looks almost like a goat, with tiny horns and dog-like feet. It wears a long robe with a symbol you vaguely recognize. Its eyes are a deep red and it has tiny fangs.

 

You gulp and continue to tremble. At least you could recognize a flower. What is this? Is this the Devil? You sniffle, longing for your bed.

 

The whatever-it-is was glaring in the direction of where the flower had landed. “What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth…”

 

The voice catches you off guard. It’s a lady’s voice, calm, smooth, and gentle. She sounds like the kind old nurse who gave you the bandage for your chin.

 

The goat-woman glances down at you, and you realize that your lip is still trembling. “Ah, do not be afraid, my child.” She kneels down, slowly, and gives you a warm smile. You give her a tiny one in return. “I am Toriel, caretaker of the ruins. I pass through this area every day to see if anyone has fallen down.” She pauses. “You are the first human to come here in a long time.”

 

She straightens up. “Come! I will guide you through the catacombs.”

 

You look down and notice that you can see your arms and legs again. Your heart has disappeared. You look up at Toriel, who gives you another kindly smile. 

 

“This way.” She walks forward, into the darkness. You follow close behind, hoping that Flowey is still down for the count.

 

The two of you walk through a similar doorway and into a large, lavender-walled cavern strewn with bright red leaves. You glance up at the arched doorway and feel a strange swelling in your chest.

  
_ The shadow of the ruins looms above, filling you with determination _ .


	2. Ruins Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Just some quick notes: I obviously won't be going through every single possible action in the story, partially out of convenience for me and partially because they don't mesh with my interpretation of Frisk. If you think anything should be explained more or if you don't understand a headcanon of mine, please let me know! Any and all feedback is appreciated!

The two of you walk into a new room, smaller than the one before it. There are six raised buttons in the floor next to her.

 

Toriel turns and faces you. “Welcome to your new home, innocent one.” Um… new home? With scary flowers and friendliness bullets? “Allow me to educate you in the operation of the ruins.” She walks across the buttons in a pattern you don’t know if you’re supposed to remember, then presses a lever on the wall. The door in front of the two of you opens immediately.

 

“The ruins are full of puzzles,” Toriel explains. “Ancient fusions between diversions and doorkeys.” What a lovely way to describe a puzzle, you think. Diversions and doorkeys. Diversions and doorkeys. Diversions… “One must solve them to move from room to room. Please adjust yourself to the sight of them.” She looks back at you, smiles, and walks through the doorway.

 

Next to the doorway is a small sign written in a language you can’t read, but can somehow understand.

 

_Only the fearless may proceed. Brave ones, foolish ones. Both walk not the middle road._

 

You hope that you are one of the brave ones. Although maybe, you think, you are both. You look down at your boots, which are scuffed from your long hike. If you’re stuck here, you guess you can only blame yourself. You sigh, then follow Toriel into the next room.

 

Toriel is waiting for you. “To make progress here, you will need to trigger several switches. Don’t worry, I have labelled the ones that you need to flip.” She gestures at a yellow switch on the back wall, then moves off a bit to give you room.

 

You approach the switch, which looks more whimsical and fun than any switch you’ve ever seen before, and notice the careful loopy writing and numerous little arrows next to it. Even if Toriel hadn’t told you she had labelled the switches, you would have known it was her handwriting. It looks like Teacher’s comments on your compositions. _Good work. Watch those t’s!_ (You have trouble with crossing them too low, apparently.)

 

_Please press this switch. -Toriel_

 

You giggle. How polite of her! You confidently press the switch. Toriel gives you a broad smile and a nod, then walks further to the right. You follow her and see two more switches. You look at Toriel, who nods in the direction of the switches. This time, only one is labelled.

 

_Please press this switch too. -Toriel_

 

You are about to press the switch when for some reason you feel like being a bit naughty. What will happen if… before Toriel can react, you run over to the other switch and put your hand on it.

 

“No no no!” She calls to you, almost alarmed. “You want to press the other switch.” She pauses, then looks down. “I even labelled it for you…”

 

Oh, Toriel! You give her a guilty smile and press the other switch. You hear a _shump_ as a set of spikes behind her sink into the floor.

 

“Splendid!” She claps her hands once. “I’m proud of you, little one.” There’s no hint of sarcasm or mocking in her voice, even though you only seem to have done the absolute bare minimum to make her proud of you. “Let us move to the next room.”

 

The next room yields what looks like a weird mannequin with a long-nosed face. You look at Toriel with a small frown.

 

She looks at you with a serious expression. “As a human living in the underground, monsters may attack you.” Your heart jumps for a moment and you instinctively take a step back from the mannequin. “You will need to be prepared for this situation.” You nod. “However, worry not! The process is simple. When you encounter a monster, you will enter a fight. While you are in a fight, strike up a friendly conversation.” Wait… what? You’ve never been in a fight before, at least not a real one, but you’re pretty sure that’s not how it works. Don’t you have to punch things or something? “Stall for time,” Toriel continues. “I will come to resolve the conflict.” Just like Teacher, you think.

 

She steps back and gestures with her hand. “Practice talking to the dummy.”

 

You look at her questioningly, and she nods, guiding you to approach it. You do so, hesitantly.

 

Suddenly, you feel the ground fall away again, your arms and legs go all clear and you can see your heart—or, soul, you guess—glowing in front of you. The box surrounds your heart once again. However, things are a little different this time. The box is translucent, and before you you can see four words in big, blocky letters: _FIGHT, ACT, ITEM,_ and _MERCY._ Your heart is on top of _FIGHT._ Um… what do you do? Do you keep it there? No, Toriel said to try to talk. But none of the words say “talk.” Hmmm… maybe try _ACT?_

 

You move your arm to the right and push forward. The four words disappear, and now you see two options: _Check_ and _Talk._ Ah, there it is! You move to _Talk,_ then hesitate.

 

Another game you saw the older kids playing had a lady in some sort of science lab trying to escape from an evil computer. You didn’t know it was a lady at first, though, because she never talked, even when the computer was being mean to her. You had asked one of the kids why the lady didn’t talk, and he had explained that she _could_ talk, but just _chose_ not to because it was her one way to prove the computer couldn’t control her. You remember thinking that was the coolest thing you’d ever heard. You want to do something that’s like that here, even if there is no mean computer. It was cool to be mysterious. And you aren't sure who you can trust yet. Maybe Toriel, but still.

 

Well, you can compromise. Only talk in fights. After all, that’s worked fine so far.

 

You say “hello” to the dummy and compliment its color.

 

...um. It doesn’t say anything back. Because it’s a dummy.

 

 _It doesn’t seem like much for conversation,_ a small voice comments, though it doesn’t startle you. You’ve come to expect things like this by now, though you do wonder where it’s coming from.

 

Toriel seems happy with you.

 

The dummy turns translucent and a puff of steam comes out of it.

 

 _You won!_ The small voice declares. _You earned zero EXP and zero gold._

 

Aw, you could have gotten gold? This does seem like a video game, like that one you saw the older kids playing where four kids were on an adventure to save an alien or something. Or maybe they were supposed to fight it. Anyway, it feels like that.

 

Your arms and legs turn solid again, and the room comes back. Toriel is smiling broadly.

 

“Ah, very good! You are very good.” You grin as she beckons you to the next room.

 

“There is another puzzle in this room… I wonder if you can solve it?” She murmurs, almost to herself. She walks towards the right, and you follow. You note the squiggly pattern in the floor of the room, but before you can think about that, you see something out of the corner of your eye.

 

You whip your head around, and before you realize what’s happening, your arms and legs disappear and you’re in the battle box. A creature that looks like a sad frog the size of you stands before you.

 

 _Froggit attacks you!_ The small voice gasps. Attacks? Froggit just sort of seems confused… you navigate over to the _ACT_ button and survey your choices: _Check, Compliment,_ and _Threat._ Well, there’s no _Talk_ this time, and you don’t really want to threaten a monster that’s apparently attacking you. You choose _Compliment._

 

 _Froggit didn’t understand what you said, but was flattered anyway,_ the voice explains. You nod and smile. Suddenly, you see Toriel. She’s glaring at Froggit, who proceeds to shuffle guiltily away. Toriel’s eyes take on a hard-set expression.

 

_You won! You earned zero EXP and zero gold._

 

Darn, are you doing something wrong? Eh, never mind. You’re okay. Toriel continues guiding you towards the right side of the room. You notice a sign on the wall: _The western room is the eastern room’s blueprint._ Hmmm… “never eat soggy waffles,” right? That means that the room you were just in is the west, and… hey, that squiggly line! As you’re trying to remember it, Toriel comes to an abrupt stop in front of a large square area covered in spikes. Oh, now you think you get it! The squiggly line must have been a path of… fake spikes, or something? You’re still figuring out in your head when you hear Toriel’s worried voice.

 

“This is the puzzle, but…” she turns back to you and you look up at her quizzically. “Here, take my hand a moment.”

 

Your eyes widen as she reaches down and gently grabs hold of your hand. Her hand is more like a paw, though. It’s warm and soft and you can feel her kindness and tenderness in how carefully she’s holding you. You wrap your fingers around what you suppose is her thumb and smile up at her.

 

Cautiously, slowly, she begins leading you towards the spikes in a deliberate pattern. The spikes retract into the ground before she even reaches them. All the while, she is looking back at you, making sure you are alright. You feel a strange swelling in your chest and for some reason want to pull her arm closer to you. You feel like she wouldn’t mind.

 

Before you can, though, you’ve crossed the rest of the spikes. Toriel lets go of your hand and turns to you.

 

“Puzzles seem a little too dangerous for now.”

 

You shrug and smile, and she leads you to the next room. You feel like you could have handled that one, but oh well.

 

This next room is very big—well, not big so much as _long._ You can’t even see the exit. Toriel turns towards you with a very somber expression.

 

“You have done excellently thus far, my child.” She takes a deep breath. “However, I have a difficult request to ask of you…” She looks behind her, then at the floor. “I would like you to walk to the end of the room by yourself.” She places her hand on her chest. “Forgive me for this.”

 

You stifle a giggle as she speed-walks away from you. She seemed so serious! How hard can this be? Another fight? Or maybe… she’s setting you up? She’s secretly an enemy? Your mind runs wild as you determinedly stride across the room. You imagine you’re the main character in an action movie running across the airplane tarmac or something.

 

You’ve almost reached the end of the room and you still don’t know what Toriel was so worried about. You see a white pillar to your left; it seems a bit out of place, but you continue on. Just as you are about to reach the exit, you hear a rustling from behind the pillar and see Toriel hurrying towards you.

 

“Greetings, my child. Do not worry, I did not leave you. I was merely behind this pillar the whole time.” Of course she was, you think, suppressing another laugh. She’s like… like a mom. Or what you think a mom would be like. “Thank you for trusting me,” she continues. “However, there was an important reason for this exercise.” She takes a breath. “To test your independence. I must attend to some business, and you must stay alone for a while. Please remain here. It’s dangerous to explore by yourself.” Now, that reminds you of a game you played yourself! A wizard told you that, but then he gave you a sword. Wait! Is Toriel going to give you a sword? She does kind of look like a wizard!

 

Toriel thinks for a moment. “I have an idea. I will give you a cell phone.” Oh. Well, not as cool as a sword, but still pretty awesome! You love playing with the older kids’ cell phones. You hope this one has games. “If you have a need for anything, just call.” She hands you a very old-looking cell phone. It’s black and blocky and only has a few buttons.

 

“Be good, alright?” With that, she goes through the doorway and leaves you alone.

 

You wave to her, then look down at the phone and sigh. No games. It looks like you can just call. Then again, you think it’s pretty cool that they even _have_ cell phones down here, honestly.

 

You decide to walk into the next room. Toriel is already gone. The room is much smaller than the last, and is covered in little patches of bright red leaves. You can’t wait to crunch them up. In the corner is Froggit—maybe the same one from earlier? He seems to be minding his own business. In fact, he seems a little shy. You want to go up to him, but before you can, your cell phone rings.

 

“Hello? This is Toriel.” Well, who else would it be? “You have not left the room, have you?” Um… you look around with a twinge of guilt. “There are a few puzzles ahead that I have yet to explain. It would be dangerous to try and solve them by yourself. Be good, alright?” She hangs up.

 

You sigh. You’re itching to explore around here, and you honestly think you can handle these puzzles. Toriel doesn’t seem like the type to really get mad at you. Why don’t you just explore a little? You’re sure she won’t mind too much.

 

You cautiously approach Froggit. It doesn’t seem like you’re going to have a fight. It ribbits at you, and you can somehow understand what it’s saying.

 

“Excuse me, human,” it says politely. “I have some advice for you about battling monsters.” You nod eagerly. “If you _act_ a certain way or _fight_ until you almost defeat them… they might not want to battle you anymore. If a monster does not want to fight you, please… use some _mercy,_ human.” It ribbits again.

 

You consider Froggit’s words. You guess monsters don’t really like fighting. Well, neither do you, and all you have is a stick. You’ll just have to use the _ACT_ button, you guess. Sounds interesting; you’ll have to learn what to do instead of just fighting.

 

Next to Froggit is a door that leads into a small room. You go in and are delighted to see a bowl of colorful candy. There is a sign reading “Take one.” Well, you don’t mind if you do. You aren’t too hungry now, though, so you shove a piece in your pocket for later.

 

Walking back into the other room, you happily set about crunching up and rolling around in the leaves. 

 

 _Playfully crinkling through the leaves fills you with determination._  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, let me know if you have any questions or criticisms. Thanks!


	3. Ruins Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter!

You’re about to walk into the next room (with just a twinge of guilt about disobeying Toriel) when you feel the now-familiar sensation of the floor falling away.

 

_ Whimsun approached meekly!  _ The voice announces. “Meek” seems like the perfect word to describe Whimsun, who looks like a frightened ghost-moth-butterfly. It floats hesitantly a few feet away from you. You move your heart to  _ ACT  _ and survey your options. Hm? When you select who to  _ ACT _ on, Whimsun’s name is yellow. What does that mean?

 

Your choices are to Check, Console, or Terrorize. Well, you certainly don’t want to terrorize the poor thing; it already looks terrified! You choose Console.

 

You try to say something like “It’s okay” or “I am very small and don’t intend to hurt you,” but before you can say anything, Whimsun bursts into tears and runs away.

 

_ You won! You earned zero EXP and zero gold. _

 

Oh. Alright then. You continue on your way.

 

The next room has two vents on the wall with a patch of what looks to be broken floor in between them. With no other choice, you step onto the weak material and promptly crash through. You float oddly slowly down to a lower level, where a pile of leaves has gathered under the patchy area. You slip into the stairway/vent thing and pop back up into the upper room, and go on your way. That didn’t seem like so much of a puzzle as just a roadblock or something.

 

As you step into the next room, your cell phone rings. It’s Toriel, of course. You look around, wondering if she’s lurking somewhere.

 

“Hello? This is Toriel. For no reason in particular…” Oh, no, is she going to ask if you’ve left the room? “...which do you prefer? Cinnamon or butterscotch?”

 

Oh. Well… you’ve never really thought of comparing the two before, but if you had to choose, you guess you’d say cinnamon.

 

“Oh, I see. Thank you very much!”

 

You haven’t even taken a full step before she calls again.

 

“Hello? This is Toriel.” Of course it is, haha. “You do not DISLIKE butterscotch, do you? I know what your preference is, but would you turn up your nose if you saw it on your plate?”

 

You tell her that no, butterscotch is fine. Your voice sounds very… small.

 

“Right, right, I understand. Thank you for being patient, by the way.” You feel a warm swelling in your chest after she hangs up—not like the powerful swelling you got when you were playing in the leaves, but more of a soft, comfortable feeling.

 

You survey the room. There is a rock lying next to a button on the floor, and a line of spikes blocks the exit. You read the sign on the wall.

 

_ Three out of four grey rocks recommend you push them. _

 

Well, you know what that means! You go up to the rock and push it onto the button, and the spikes retract immediately. You feel like you could have figured that out without the sign.

 

The floor falls away from you, and it’s almost starting to feel routine. It’s Whimsun again. You repeat what you did last time, and again receive no EXP or gold. Oh well.

 

The next room has a strange design. There is more of the broken floor, but there’s way too much of it to cross without falling down a million times. You take an experimental step and, of course, crash through to the floor below, which is again carpeted with leaves. Hmmm… the leaves are strewn in what looks to be a pattern. You’re about to climb through the vent and try again when it hits you: in the first room with the broken floor, there were leaves under the broken sections. You look at the leaves again and try to memorize the pattern.

 

It takes quite a few tries, but eventually you are able to make your way across the room by remembering which areas of the broken floor are over leaves (and break) and which ones aren’t. Feeling a bit smug, you make your way to the next room.

 

It’s a similar set-up to the puzzle two rooms back: three rocks next to three buttons and a wall of spikes. You shove two of the rocks onto the buttons, but when you get to the third, it doesn’t budge and you almost jump out of your skin when you hear a mad-sounding voice coming from it. Guess you aren’t as used to this world as you thought.

 

“WHOA there, pardner! Who said you could push me around?”

 

You whisper to the rock(?) that you need it to move a bit.

 

“HMM? So you’re ASKIN’ me to move over? Okay, just for you, pumpkin.”

 

You giggle as the rock inches forward by itself, but wince as it stops after only a second. Looking at your feet, you mumble that you need it to move some more.

 

“HMM? You want me to move some more? Alrighty, how’s this?” The rock moves a bit upwards. You sigh and try to explain what you mean. 

 

“HMM? That was the wrong direction? Okay, think I got it.” The rock edges back into position and slides over to the button.  _ Shunk!  _ The spikes disappear. You’re about to cross over them when they suddenly shoot back up. You almost fall over. Turning around, you notice that, for some reason, the rock has  _ moved off  _ the button. You walk over to it and tell it that you need it to stay on the button so you can pass the stupid spikes. Only you don’t say stupid, because that would be mean.

 

“HMM? You wanted me to STAY there? You’re giving me a real workout.” The rock moves back onto the button, hopefully for good. “Aren’t things easier when you just ask?” It calls to you.

 

Easier? You’re not so sure. As you are crossing into the next room, you remember that the sign did say that “three out of four rocks” recommend that you push them, but you really just thought that was a figure of speech. Guess that doesn’t really work here.

 

This room doesn’t seem to have a puzzle. It’s just a table with a cheese standing across from a mouse hole. You approach the hole and hear a teeny  _ squeak.  _ It’s adorable. You approach the table. The cheese has been there such a long time, it’s stuck to the table. Not so adorable.

 

Strangely, as you stare at the mouse hole, you feel your chest begin to swell.

 

_ Knowing that the mouse might one day leave its hole and get the cheese… it fills you with determination. _


	4. Ruins Part 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got my first comment! Thanks, falafels! I too enjoy falafel.

Moving on from the mouse and the cheese, you come to… a ghost. Well, a room with a ghost in it, but you’re more interested in the real, live(?), actual ghost lying paper-flat on a bed of leaves in front of you. It looks just like a bedsheet ghost that you and some of the other kids would dress up as every Halloween. You barely realize that it’s blocking your path.

 

“zzzzzzzzzzzz… zzzzzzzzzzz… zzzzzzzzzzz…”

 

You’re very confused as to why the real live(?) actual ghost is just saying “z.”

 

“zzzzzzzzz… aretheygoneyet zzzzzzzzzzzz…”

 

Oh. It’s pretending to be asleep. Um….

 

_ Move it with force?  _ The voice asks you. You nod, and the floor falls away.

 

_ Here comes Napstablook,  _ says the voice. Napstablook doesn’t really look like (he…? she…? ...they?) want to be here.

 

As usual, you choose to  _ ACT.  _ You can Check, Threat, Cheer or… Flirt? You giggle. How do you flirt with a ghost? You kinda want to find out! You select Flirt, but before you can do anything, Napstablook cuts you off.

 

“i’d just weigh you down…” they moan. Tears begin falling from their eyes and into the box, forcing you to dodge them, but it’s not too difficult.

 

_ Napstablook is wishing they weren’t here,  _ the voice comments. Well, you could have figured that one out for yourself. You’ve got to Cheer this ghost up. You give them a patient smile.

 

“heh…” Their expression doesn’t really change, but it’s better than nothing. Squiggly tear-things run out of their eyes and crawl along the edges of the box. These are harder to dodge, and you feel one hit you. You feel like someone shoved you backward—it’s not exactly painful, but you feel a little rattled. Still, you aren’t deterred. The voice tells you that  _ Napstablook looks just a little bit better,  _ and you are determined to make them feel a  _ lot  _ better.

 

You select Cheer again, this time telling them that a ghost puts on a sheet belt to stay safe in a car, and get a much similar result. “heh… heh…” they breathe. You brace for an attack (or an onslaught of tears) but instead, some grey words just flash across the box.  _ Really not feelin up to it right now. Sorry.  _ You nod sympathetically.

 

_ Cheering seems to have improved Napstablook’s mood again,  _ the voice informs you. You go for Cheer a third time, but are interrupted.

 

_ Napstablook wants to show you something,  _ the voice says. “let me try…” says Napstablook. Tears pour out of their eyesockets again, but this time they travel upwards and form the shape of a fancy-looking top hat.

 

“i call it ‘dapper blook,’” says Napstablook. “do you like it…” Like it? It’s adorable! It reminds you of Casper.

 

_ Napstablook eagerly awaits your response.  _ You choose Cheer again, nodding enthusiastically and giving a thumbs-up.

 

“oh gee…” Napstablook mumbles, two tears falling out of their eyes, and you feel the floor return.

 

“i usually come to the ruins because there’s nobody around… but today i met somebody nice…” You give Napstablook a big smile. “oh, i’m rambling again… i’ll get out of your way.” Before you can tell Napstablook that it’s okay, they fade away, leaving your path clear. Aw. Oh well. Maybe you’ll see them later; they’re an interesting person… er, ghost.

 

You make your way across the bed of leaves and notice that there are two exits to this room—one straight ahead, one to your left. You decide to go straight ahead first, and come to a small room with nothing in it but two large spider webs and a sign in between them. The sign reads:  _ Spider Bake Sale. All proceeds go to real spiders. _

 

Um… okay. You walk up to the smaller web. The voice asks you,  _ Leave 7G in the web?  _ Unfortunately, you don’t have any gold. Then again, you’re not exactly sure what you’d be paying for. You walk into the other room, where there is another sign along with Froggit.

 

The sign reads:  _ Did you miss it? Spider Bake Sale down and to the right. Come eat food made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders!  _ Um. Okay. Maybe it’s a good thing you don’t have any gold. 

 

You walk up to Froggit. It ribbits at you.  _ I have heard you are quite merciful, for a human.  _ You nod slowly. You know that in your world, humans aren’t always so merciful. You were lucky enough to be able to live in a nice children’s home with good people in it, but you know a lot of other kids weren’t so lucky. Froggit goes on:  _ Surely you know by now a monster wears a yellow name when you can Spare it.  _ Oh! You shake your head. That makes a lot of sense. You actually haven’t even had a chance to use the  _ MERCY  _ button yet, but you guess that Spare is an option you can do with it.  _ What do you think of that?  _ You tell Froggit that it’s very helpful, and thank him for the info.  _ It is rather helpful,  _ Froggit agrees.  _ Remember, sparing is just saying you won’t fight. Maybe one day, you’ll have to do it even if their name isn’t yellow. _

 

You aren’t quite sure what that means, but you nod and smile anyway. You wonder why all the monsters are so kind and friendly to you. Humans you’ve just met wouldn’t be this way. Even Teacher isn’t this friendly, and you’ve known her as long as you can remember.

 

Just as you are thinking about this, your phone rings. Toriel! “Hello? I just realized that it has been a while since I have cleaned up. I was not expecting to have company so soon. There are probably a lot of things lying about here and there. You can pick them up, but do not carry more than you need. Someday you might see something you really like. You will want to leave room in your pockets for that.” She hangs up. You feel something hot behind your eyes, like you are going to cry, but in a good way. You know that grown-ups on TV sometimes cry when something really good happens, but it’s never happened to you before. 

 

You look at your phone and notice that there are a few options on the screen: Say Hello, About Yourself, Call Her “Mom,” and Flirt. (You feel as though they may be provided by the little voice that keeps speaking to you.) You feel your cheeks get hot at the last option. You don’t want to flirt with her! She’s old enough to be your… mom. You look at the option that says “Call Her ‘Mom.’” You almost press it with your finger, but chicken out and press “Say Hello” instead.

 

The phone rings. “This is Toriel.” Who else would it be? Well, you guess you’re not the only one who calls, maybe. You whisper “hello” to her, suddenly feeling shy again. “You only wanted to say hello…? Well then. Hello!” You laugh. “I hope that suffices. Hee hee.” She hangs up, and you feel a prickling behind your eyes again. You immediately call back, this time pressing “About Yourself.”

 

“This is Toriel. You want to know more about me?” She laughs, then pauses. “Well, I am afraid there is not much to say. I am just a silly little lady who worries too much!” She hangs up. Aw, you don’t think Toriel is silly. Maybe she does worry a bit much, though. You don’t think these puzzles have been very dangerous so far.

 

You look at the option that says “Call Her ‘Mom’” for a long time. You’ve never had a mom. Well, obviously you had one once, because you had to be born, but you don’t know what happened to her. The closest you’ve had is Teacher or Nurse, and Toriel has been kinder to you in the past hour than either of them have been for your whole life. You press the option.

 

“This is Toriel.” She pauses, and you manage to choke out a “Hi, mom.” 

 

“Huh? Did you just call me… ‘Mom?’” Before you can stammer out a reply, she continues. “Well… I suppose… would that make you happy? To call me… ‘Mother?’” You say a quiet “yes.” “Well then, call me whatever you like!” She hangs up, and this time the prickling does turn into tears. You notice Froggit looking at you.

 

_ Is something wrong?  _ Froggit asks. You shake your head.  _ Alright, then. Be careful, merciful human!  _ You nod and continue to the next room.

 

This is a large room. There are six patches of the broken floor: three on one side, three on the other. You read the sign on the wall:  _ There is only one switch.  _ Well, guess you’ll have to go looking for it. You start off with the closest patch, which is on the left side. You fall down to a small room with a vent in it. Something is sticking out of the floor. You approach it and something that looks like a carrot with a face pops out, startling you. Oh, no, you think as the ground falls away. Not more vegetation with faces! 

 

_ Vegetoid came out of the earth!  _ The voice says. Well,  _ duh.  _ Luckily, this monster doesn’t seem like… whatever Flowey was. Its smile is super wide and pretty creepy, but it looks fairly harmless. You navigate to  _ ACT  _ and select Talk.

 

_ Plants can’t talk silly,  _ Vegetoid says. You frown. That doesn’t make sense. Well, it would ordinarily. But not here. Considering it just had to talk to tell you that.

 

A bunch of bouncing vegetables come flying from all edges of the screen. You somehow manage to avoid all of them, but it’s tricky.

 

Okay. Well, Talk didn’t work. Devour seems a bit barbaric. What about Dinner? You aren’t quite sure how to portray that, so you rub your tummy. Vegetoid looks pleased, and according to the voice,  _ offers you a healthy meal. _

 

_ Eat your greens,  _ says Vegetoid. This time, the vegetables fall straight down from the top of the box. You notice that one is colored green and rush to touch it, getting hit in the process. However, the green makes you feel a bit better. When you navigate to  _ ACT,  _ Vegetoid’s name is yellow. You go back and navigate over to  _ MERCY  _ and select Spare.

 

_ You won! You earned zero EXP and four gold.  _ Oh, wow! You got some gold! Finally! You're not exactly sure what gold is, but it's still exciting.

 

You climb through the vent and head over to the broken patch opposite the one you just came out of. You fall down and look around. There’s nothing but a red ribbon on the floor. You pick it up.  _ If you’re cuter, monsters won’t hit you as hard,  _ the voice informs. Hm. That could be useful. It doesn’t seem like the monsters actually want to hurt you, but if their attacks hit you, it still hurts. You’ve noticed that it also lowers the little bar marked HP above the four buttons. Usually, in the games you see the older kids play, HP means “health points” or something, so you guess it’s something like that. Anyway, it seems like this ribbon will help.

 

You’re about to get some of your hair bunched up to tie the ribbon around it when you notice that you still have your bandage on. It’s getting a little gross, and it’ll look weird with the ribbon. You take it off and shove it in your pocket. You tie the ribbon around a little section of your hair and climb through the vent. You decide to go to the patch next to this one. On your way down, you notice that the room across from this one has a switch in it. You’re eager to leave and go press it when you notice Napstablook lying flat on the ground next to you.

 

“i fell down a hole… now i can’t get up… go on without me…” You wrinkle your nose. Um, can’t ghosts fly? “wait, ghosts can fly, can’t they… oh well…” They vanish. You shrug and climb through the vent.

 

You fall through the patchy ground opposite and flip the switch. You hear a  _ clunk.  _ Guess something moved! You go through to the next room.

 

This room has three white pillars with three colored switches—red, green, and blue—like mushrooms next to each one. You read the sign:  _ The far door is not an exit. It simply marks a rotation in perspective.  _ Huh? You’re not sure what that means. You walk through the far door, which is apparently not an exit.

 

Ah… now it makes sense. This room is just like the last one, but instead of having a horizontal path and then a vertical one, it’s the other way. You read the sign:  _ If you can read this, press the blue switch.  _ You look around. You only see the green and red ones. Oh, wait! If the perspective is changed, maybe the blue switch is in a different place next to its pillar. You go back to the entrance, and sure enough, there’s the blue switch. You press it and hear a  _ clunk.  _ You go to the… same room, you guess.

 

This version is like a flipped version of the first room. The horizontal path is on the bottom right, and the vertical is top left. The sign here says:  _ If you can read this, press the red switch.  _ The red switch in this version of the room is by the pillar closest to the far door. Well, technically, that’s every version of the room, you guess. You press the switch and the spikes by the door retract.

 

In this version, you can’t see any of the switches from where you walk in, and the colors are hidden by the shadows of the pillars as you walk towards the sign.  _ If you can read this, press the green switch.  _ Hmmm. Well, you know that the red switch is the one by the far door. You’re pretty sure the blue one is the one by the door you always come in by. That means the green switch is the one in the middle. You go behind the middle pillar and press the switch. You hear a  _ click!  _ Yes! You did it. That one was a little tricky.

 

You finally advance to the next room. It’s a long one, with two patches of green vines in front of you and a bed of leaves on the path to your left. You decide to keep going straight. You walk into a small room with a door and see Froggit. It ribbits.  _ Just between you and me… I saw Toriel come out of here just a little while ago. She was carrying some groceries.  _ It strikes you as funny that monsters go grocery shopping.  _ I didn’t ask what they were for… we’re all too intimidated to talk to her.  _ It ribbits again. Aw, intimidated? Of Toriel? Well, she did glare at that one Froggit who attacked you. She didn’t have to, though. Guess she was just being protective.

 

You walk through the door and are greeted with the beautiful sight of an ancient city. Wow. These must be the real ruins. Probably where Toriel lives! You look to be on a balcony, so you can’t explore down there. You notice something to your left. You pick it up. It’s a toy knife! These are fun. Sometimes the older kids let you play pretend with them.  _ Made of plastic. A rarity nowadays.  _ You agree with the voice. You all used to fight over the one plastic knife in the toy box. Well, not you. Everyone else. You didn’t really want to get involved if people were  _ real  _ fighting.

 

You walk back into the other room and approach the bed of leaves. You wish you could play in them a bit, but something tells you to keep going. In the next room, you can see a black, dead tree surrounded by a huge pile of leaves.

 

Suddenly, you hear a familiar voice. “Oh dear, that took longer than I thought it would.” It’s Toriel! Your heart leaps and you almost jump into the air, forgetting all about the fact that you were supposed to stay put.

 

Now you see her walk up to the tree. She pulls out her cell phone and dials something quickly, but before your phone can ring, she notices you. She rushes over, looking quite flustered. You can’t believe how happy you are to see her.

 

“How did you get here, my child? Are you hurt?” She checks you over quickly. “There, there, I will heal you.” You feel a bit of your strength return. She must have restored your HP or something. “I should not have left you alone for so long. It was irresponsible to try to surprise you like this.” Your eyebrows shoot up and your smile widens. Surprise? Toriel notices your reaction and brings her paw to her mouth. “Err… well, I suppose I cannot hide it any longer. Come, small one!” She hurries off in the direction she came from. You start to follow her, then pause at the poor black tree. 

 

_ Every time this old tree grows any leaves, they fall right off.  _ How does the voice know that? What is the voice? You wait and see if it will respond. Silence. The voice sounds young, like a kid. Maybe it’s just your voice… made by someone… using magic or something? Oh well. It doesn’t really seem to matter.

 

You keep following Toriel and are delighted to see a tiny little house. It’s made of purple brick and has two big windows and a sign above the door reading “HOME.” You feel that powerful swelling in your chest again.

 

_ Seeing such a cute, tidy house in the ruins gives you determination. _   
  



	5. Ruins Part 5: Toriel Battle

You walk into the house and are immediately greeted with a flush of warm colors and a sweet, sticky scent that fills up your whole nose. The house isn’t incredibly colorful—it’s comprised of slats of pale wood and beige walls—but what colors there are are vibrant and alive.

 

“Do you smell that?” Toriel smiles. You nod eagerly. “Surprise! It is a butterscotch-cinnamon pie.” Butterscotch pie? You’ve never heard of that. It smells delicious, though, so you aren’t worried. “I thought we might celebrate your arrival. I want you to have a nice time living here. So I will hold off on snail pie for tonight.” She laughs, and so do you, but you feel a little uneasy. You’re just living here all of a sudden? What about going back to the home? Are you stuck here? You do love spending time with Toriel, but…

 

“Here, I have another surprise for you.” She walks off to the right, and you follow, still wondering about what all this means for you. 

 

The two of you walk into a long hallway. Toriel turns to you and takes your hand, and again you’re overwhelmed with that warm, fuzzy feeling—and it’s not just because of her paw. “This is it…” She leads you to the first simple brown door on the left. “A room of your own. I hope you like it!”

 

Your eyes bug out, your mouth falls open, and you momentarily forget all about being stuck here. Your own room?! No one at the home has their own room. Even the older kids. The kids your age all sleep together in a big room upstairs, and the older kids sleep in smaller rooms with about five people in them. You’ve never even  _ heard  _ of a room of your own. How big is it?

 

While your mind is running wild, Toriel reaches down and pats your head softly, ruffling your hair. You feel like leaning into her and hugging her legs, but you’re too shy. Suddenly, she sniffs the air.

 

“Is something burning...? Um, make yourself at home!” She hurries off in the direction you just came from. You look at the door to your room, take a deep breath, and open it.

 

Gosh, it’s huge! Almost as big as the rooms the big kids share. There’s two lamps, a closet, a bed, a shoebox, a toy box, a bookcase, and two stuffed animals—or monsters—by the bed. They look like lambs, or maybe they’re supposed to be whatever Toriel is.

 

You walk up to the toy box.  _ Look at these cool toys! They don’t interest you at all.  _ How did the voice know that? You do feel kind of bad; Toriel must have worked hard to get all these toys. But you don’t really like toys. You wonder if they have video games here. You think of how much fun you have watching the older kids play video games, and suddenly you miss the home a bit. You wonder again just how long Toriel thinks you’ll be staying here. A part of you does really want to stay with her, but you know you have to get home, at least just to tell everyone that you’re OK. Maybe after that you can live with Toriel. Sounds like a plan.

 

You walk over to the bookcase. There’s an empty photo frame. It’s really dusty. You wonder if the voice has anything to say about this, but it’s silent. Does Toriel have a family? This house does seem like it’s that size. You look into the shoebox, and there’s a variety of kids’ shoes in a disparity of sizes. Offhandedly, you hope that Toriel isn’t a witch who eats children and keeps their shoes. You realize that if she was, she probably wouldn’t put the shoes right where you can see them. Still, you wonder why they’re there. Behind the shoebox is a drawing of a flower. Maybe another kid just lived here before, and then left, just like you will.

 

You look at the bed. You feel pretty tired, but you don’t have your pajamas. You hop on and curl up on top of the covers (you don't want to get the sheets dirty from your boots). It’s crazy soft, and the mattress is super thick. You can’t feel any springs at all. You yawn, and your eyes close all by themselves. You don’t even have the energy to turn the light off.

 

You wake up after what seems like a very short time. You notice that you’ve been tucked in, clothes and all, and the light is turned off. You wiggle out of the covers and rub your eyes. Looking blearily at the floor, you notice a plate with a slice of pie on it covered by a thin, clear wrapping. It smells delicious, but you’re not very hungry. You feel like you won’t appreciate it. You carefully wrap it up and put it in your pocket.

 

You walk over to the light and turn it on, then walk out of the room. You decide to explore the rest of the hallway before going to see Toriel.

 

In the hallway, there are a few simple plants. You approach a large, potted plant.  _ You have seen this type of plant before but do not know its name.  _ Hm. It’s right. Maybe the voice is vocalizing thoughts you’re too lazy to think. Next to the potted plant is a small red flower on a table. You continue walking down the hallway, where there are two other doors and a mirror. You stand in front of the mirror.

 

_ It’s you!  _ The voice says happily. It certainly is you. The ribbon in your hair does look cute. It doesn’t go too bad with your favorite long-sleeve T-shirt. (It’s not too hot and not too cold. You can wear it anywhere, anytime!) Your bangs are getting pretty long, and they still look kind of choppy from when you tried to cut them yourself. Teacher was going to make you get a haircut soon anyway. You smile; your teeth look OK. You frown; you look silly. You look down at your boots. You’ve had them for a long time, and they’re a little tight on you, but they’re your favorite pair. You’re wearing your favorite shorts, too: jean shorts from one of the older kids. They’re comfy and make you feel cool. You’re glad that if you end up stuck here for a while, at least you’re wearing your favorite outfit.

 

You turn to the door next to the mirror. It’s locked, and a sign on it reads  _ Closed for renovations.  _ The door next to it opens easily, and you walk inside.

 

This must be Toriel’s room! It’s pretty and blue, with a splash of color from a beautiful yellow flower on top of the tall bookshelf. You make a beeline for the cactus in the right corner. You’ve never seen one in real life before! The voice speaks up:  _ Ah, the cactus. Truly the most tsundere of plants.  _ Oh, you think you know what that means. Some of the older kids watch weird cartoons at the home, and they talk about characters that are “tsundere.” It means they’re mean and don’t show their emotions even though they care about you. At least, you think that's what it is.

 

You walk over to the dresser. You open the top drawer, and the voice narrates.  _ You peek inside… scandalous! It’s Toriel’s sock drawer.  _ Ha ha, that’s funny. You look again, and the voice continues:  _ You can’t stop looking at the socks.  _ You giggle and move on to the bookshelf. You take out a book at random and flip through it.  _ It’s an encyclopedia of subterranean plants. You open to the middle…  _ You read the passage.  _ “Typha:” a group of wetland flowering plants with brown, oblong seedpods. Known more commonly as “water sausages.”  _ Hm. Informative, and funny.

 

You move onto the bed. It’s definitely bigger than a twin-sized bed. At the desk, there is a small chair. You decide its name is Chairiel. It’s a good name for it. You peek into the book open on her desk.  _ It’s Toriel’s diary. Read the circled passage?  _ Without thinking, you nod.  _ “Why did the skeleton want a friend? Because she was feeling BONELY.”  _ You groan. The voice informs you that  _ the rest of the page is filled with jokes of a similar caliber.  _ You decide not to look at them in detail.

 

You look to the left.  _ Just a regular old bucket _

 

_ of snails. _

 

Toriel seems to like snails. That’s all there is to see in the room. You leave and walk towards the entrance of the house, but pause at the potted plant.  _ Oh! s _ ays the voice.  _ It is a “water sausage.”  _ The voice seems pleased with itself. You smile and continue on. Behind where you walked in, there is a staircase. You decide to explore the downstairs.

 

It’s less like a downstairs and more like a cave. The walls are the same deep purple as the outside of the ruins, and you feel an oppressive, cold atmosphere. You’re just starting to go further when your hear quick, padded footsteps behind you. It’s Toriel.

 

“I think you should play upstairs for now,” says Toriel, grabbing you by the hand and leading you back up.

 

She hurries back to the room left of the entrance. You’re a little confused, but you shrug. Toriel might think it’s dangerous. You check the little bookcase by the stairs.  _ These books are worn… they must have been read many times.  _ You agree. Toriel has probably been here for a long time.

 

On the other side of the staircase is a small cabinet topped with a plant. You look inside.  _ Inside is an old calendar from the beginning of 201x.  _ You wonder why she has it; it’s been a while since then.

 

You walk into the next room, which looks like the sitting-room. There is a table with three chairs around it (two big and one small… does Toriel have a husband? And was she expecting you?), a crackling fireplace, and another huge bookcase. Toriel is sitting in a cozy armchair by the fire, wearing reading glasses. You smile to her, then explore the next room.

 

This is the kitchen. You check the fridge.  _ For some reason, there is a brand-name chocolate bar in the fridge.  _ For the first time, you detect some kind of emotion in the voice. It seemed sad, but not sad. Nostalgic! That was the word. You wonder about it. Maybe the voice was someone who used to live here? Well, it’s quiet now. Maybe the voice is just someone who likes chocolate.

 

You look at the sink.  _ There is some white hair caught in the drain.  _ The voice is back to normal. You think that maybe drains for goat people should be designed not to get hair caught in them.  _ Inside the cupboard are cookie cutters for gingerbread monsters.  _ That’s very Toriel! Maybe she’ll make you some later. On the counter, a huge butterscotch-cinnamon pie is cooling. There is only one slice missing.  _ The size of the pie intimidates you too much for you to eat it.  _ Yep, it sure does. It does look delicious, though. You turn to the stove.  _ The stovetop is very clean. Toriel must use fire magic instead.  _ Ooh, fire magic? Sounds awesome!

 

You walk back into the sitting-room and approach Toriel. She looks down at you and smiles. “Up already, I see?” You grin and nod. “Um, I want you to know how glad I am to have someone here.” Guess she doesn’t have a husband. It does seem a bit lonely here. “There are so many old books I want to share.” Yep, she has been here a long time. “I want to show you my favorite bug-hunting spot.” Bug-hunting? Cool! “I’ve also prepared a curriculum for your education.” Ummm… mixed feelings. Your immediate reaction is to be annoyed, because you don’t like going to school and doing homework and don’t want to have to do it here. Then you’re worried again—how long does Toriel expect you to stay? Then you feel your eyes prickle again when you realize just how much work she’s already put into caring for you. 

 

She goes on. “This may come as a surprise to you… but I have always wanted to be a teacher.” You smirk. That’s maybe the least surprising thing you’ve ever heard in your whole life. “...actually, perhaps that isn’t very surprising.” She scrunches up her nose, and you giggle. “STILL." She sighs and smiles down at you. "I am glad to have you living here.” You look down at your boots. She really expects you to stay here, doesn’t she?

 

“Oh, did you want something? What is it?”

 

You take a deep breath. She’s so kind, and you already like her so much. The last thing you want is to hurt her feelings. But you have to get home. You have to let everyone know you’re okay. You don’t want Teacher and Nurse and the others to get in trouble for you being missing.

 

You ask in a voice so small you almost can’t hear it: “When can I go home?” It’s the first complete sentence you’ve ever said to her, and it’s asking to leave. Your eyes water.

 

“What?” Toriel’s voice shakes. “This… this IS your home now.” Uh oh. That’s a little possessive. “Um… would you like to hear about this book I am reading? It is called ‘72 uses for Snails.’ How about it?” Well, that actually does sound kind of cool. You nod. “Did you know that snails… sometimes flip their digestive systems as they mature? Interesting.” You nod, but look up at her and point towards the ceiling. She takes a deep breath and looks away.

 

“...I have to do something. Stay here.” She abruptly gets up, takes off her glasses, and walks to the entrance. You know, somehow, that she’s gone downstairs. You rush to follow her.

 

You make your way downstairs once again, and sure enough, there she is. She is standing silently, facing away from you. As you get closer, she starts to speak. 

 

“You wish to know how to return… ‘home,’ do you not?” You look at your shoes. You can’t say anything. “Ahead of us lies the end of the ruins. A one-way exit to the end of the underground.” Oh… one-way? Your heart drops, then sinks to your feet at her next line: “I am going to destroy it.” You involuntarily gasp. “No one will ever be able to leave again. Now be a good child and go upstairs.” She starts walking away.

 

You blink several times. This… isn’t like Toriel. You’ve known her all of a few hours, and this isn’t like her. What is she talking about? You feel sick and hurt. You run after her. 

 

You find her standing silently again. When you get close, she speaks in a sad, monotone voice. “Every human that comes down here meets the same fate.” You feel your heart start pounding. “I have seen it again and again. They come. They leave.” She pauses and takes a shaking breath. “They die.” She sounds like she’s about to cry. “You naive child… if you leave the ruins… they…  _ Asgore…  _ will kill you. I am only protecting you, do you understand?” You do. You’re glad she’s not acting out of cruelty or planning to kill you or something. But you still need to leave. “Go to your room.” She starts walking again. You take a deep breath, and you can feel it quivering. Sorry, Toriel. You can’t go upstairs.

 

You follow her around a corner. She pauses. “Do not try to stop me. This is your final warning.” Her face is blank, and she’s trying to sound cold, but she just can’t. Her voice is too naturally warm and kind. You can still hear the choke in her voice.

 

You follow her.

 

The two of you reach a door. It’s covered in the same design Toriel wears of her shirt. You feel your heart start beating quickly again.

 

“You want to leave so badly?” Her voice is still shaking, but now it definitely sounds harsher. “Hmph. You are just like the others.”  _ Every human who comes down here meets the same fate. … They die.  _ You think of all the shoes back in your room. Kids’ shoes. Your heart feels like it’s pushing tears to your eyes. How many children has Toriel had to see die?

 

...are you going to die if you leave, too?

 

You shake your head. No. You’re too strong for that.

 

“There is only one solution to this,” she continues. “Prove yourself… Prove to me that you are strong enough to survive.”

 

Your eyes widen. You see the surroundings grow darker and fall away, until finally, the ground disappears beneath you.

 

Toriel stands before you and your heart. She’s tall and imposing, and her expression is hard-set.

 

_ Toriel blocks the way! _

 

Your hand is shaking as you navigate your heart. Actually, every part of you is shaking. No part of you wants to do this. You want to leave and eat butterscotch pie and go to sleep in your bed.

 

But deep down, you know you have to do this.

 

You select  _ ACT.  _ All you can do is Check and Talk. You choose Talk, just like Toriel taught you.

 

You open your mouth, then close it. Your throat feels all scratchy and dry. The voice jumps in:  _ You couldn’t think of any conversation topics. _

 

Toriel waves her hand across the box, and tiny fireballs follow it. You manage to dodge almost all of them and are hit at the last second. These are pretty powerful attacks. Are all monsters this good? If so, you’re not sure you can make it…

 

No. You’ve got candy, pie, and a bandage. You can get through it.

 

_ Toriel looks through you. _ You helplessly survey your options. Suddenly, you remember Froggit’s words:  _ Sparing is just saying you won’t fight. Maybe one day, you’ll have to do it even if their name isn’t yellow.  _

 

You didn’t think that day would come so soon.

 

You navigate to  _ MERCY  _ and select Spare. Toriel doesn’t say anything, but looks like she wants to.

 

Fireballs cascade down the box in a twisty pattern. You’re able to dodge this one completely. Okay, you can do this.

 

_ Toriel takes a deep breath. _ You select Spare again. Toriel looks at you in the same way. 

 

This time, the fireballs criss-cross each other. You get hit only once again.

 

_ Toriel is acting aloof. _ Spare. Same look.

 

Same attack as the first time; the paw sweep. This one is hard. As soon as you get hit, all the fireballs disappear. 

 

_ Toriel takes a deep breath.  _ (You’re barely paying attention to the voice; it seems like it’s just saying the same things.) Spare. Quizzical look.

 

You notice that your HP is getting rather low. At the same time, you notice that the fireballs aren’t even coming close to hitting you. You glance at Toriel. She won’t meet your eye. You give a very small smile. She really doesn’t want to hurt you after all.

 

Spare. “What are you doing?” She asks. Good, she’s talking.

 

Spare. More avoidable fireballs. “Attack or run away!” Nope, sorry, Toriel.

 

Spare. Fire. “What are you proving this way?” That you can survive without fighting.

 

Spare. Fire. “Fight me or leave!”

 

Spare. Fire. “Stop it.”

 

Spare. Fire. “Stop looking at me that way.” You look down. You had been giving her a pleading expression.

 

Spare. Fire. She says nothing and looks away.

 

Spare. Fire. She still won’t meet your eye, but definitely has something to say. The edges of her mouth are turned down.

 

Spare. You wait for the fire, but it doesn’t come. Instead, Toriel speaks to you. “I know you want to go home, but…”

 

You notice that the voice has stopped. Maybe there’s nothing to say. You Spare again. “But please… Go upstairs now.”

 

Spare. “I promise I will take good care of you here.” She’s smiling, and you’re fighting back tears again. You want to tell her that you  _ know  _ she will, that you  _ want  _ to stay, but you  _ have  _ to leave, but you can’t make the words from your head fit together in your mouth.

 

Spare. “I know we do not have much, but…” You shake your head, but she doesn’t notice. She has plenty. That isn’t why you can’t stay.

 

Spare. “We can have a good life here.” You  _ know  _ you can. You feel a tear drip down, and two more follow.

 

Spare. “Why are you making this so difficult?” You’re so sorry, and now you’re really crying, but you can’t stay here. You just can’t.

 

Spare. “Please, go upstairs.” You keep crying, trying to keep your head down.

 

Spare. Toriel looks away.

 

Spare. “Ha ha…” You sniffle and hope she doesn’t notice.

 

Spare. “Pathetic, is it not? I cannot save even a single child.” Your chest feels tight and you’re hiccuping for air. Oh, Toriel. How many times has she tried to do this, only for the child to die? It’s not pathetic. Kids are dumb. But you’ll be different. You know you can be different.

 

Spare. She again says nothing, but looks like she’s thinking. Her expression softens a bit.

 

Spare. She takes a deep breath. “No, I understand.” You look up, your eyes widening. “You would just be unhappy trapped down here. The ruins are very small once you get used to them. It would not be right for you to grow up in a place like this. My expectations… my loneliness… my fear…” She takes a shaking breath and looks you in the eyes. “For you, my child… I will put them aside.”

 

You feel the ground return. You wipe your eyes and realize that if you were all transparent during the battle, Toriel probably wouldn’t have noticed you crying.

 

“If you truly wish to leave the ruins… I will not stop you. However, when you leave… please do not come back.” She pauses. “I hope you understand.” You do. You can’t go back once you leave. You’ll have to get home first. You know you’ll see her again someday.

 

Toriel turns and kneels down in front of you, and finally notices that you’ve been crying. She gives you a sad smile and wipes away your tears with her paws. “Shhh. Do not cry, my child. You will be alright. I know it.” She wraps her arms around you and gives you a hug, a real hug, not like the quick ones Teacher and Nurse give. This is what a hug from your mom would feel like. You wish Toriel was your mom. You wish you could stay with her. You lean into her shoulder and cry just a little bit more. She strokes your hair and tells you not to worry.

 

After a while, she pulls away, even though neither of you want to let go. You dry your eyes with the sleeve of your shirt and take a deep breath. 

 

“Goodbye, my child.”

 

You hear her begin to walk away, then pause. You know she’s looking at you, but there’s no way you can bring yourself to turn around. You hear her footsteps get fainter as she walks away.

 

You take a deep breath and look up at the door. Well, this is it. Your chest still feels tight, but at the same time you feel something in your tummy. It’s like excitement. No, it  _ is  _ excitement. You wanted an adventure, and now it’s finally starting.

 

You push open the door and walk into the next room. It’s a long, thin hallway. You walk for what seems like forever, with the color of the floor changing from deep purple to lighter shades as you go further. You count four colors before you come to a large, arched doorway.

 

You walk through and are struck with deja vu as you come to a small, dark room with a patch of green in the middle. And a smiling flower on the patch of green. Your hand instinctively goes to your stick.

 

Flowey gives you a withering smile. “Clever. Verrrrryyyy clever.” You scowl. You do  _ not  _ want to be patronized by a stupid flower. “You think you’re really smart, don’t you?” You don’t  _ think  _ it, you  _ know _ it, and this dumb flower isn’t going to tell you otherwise. “In this world, it’s kill or be killed.” Oh, really? Because you’ve fought a whole lot of monsters already and neither of you died, soooo… “So you were able to play by your own rules.” Flowey’s face melts into that creepy glare. “You spared the life of a single person.” Oh, really? You were unaware that Froggit, Whimsun, Napstablook and Toriel were all the same person! Thanks, Flowey! 

 

“Hee hee hee… I bet you feel really great.” Um, you  _ do,  _ actually. “But what will you do if you meet a relentless killer? You’ll die and you’ll die and you’ll die. Until you tire of trying.” You shake your head. Wrong. Infinite chances means infinite ways to do the right thing. You’ll show this stupid flower. You don’t even care if you’re being mean to him. “What will you do then? Will you kill out of frustration?” You roll your eyes. Yeah, because you’re totally gonna  _ kill  _ someone just because you’re  _ annoyed.  _ Maybe Flowey is mixing you up with himself. “Or will you give up entirely on this world… and let ME inherit the power to control it?” You grit your teeth. Not on your puny life, Flowey. 

 

He goes on. “I am the prince of this world’s future. Don’t worry, my little monarch, my plan isn’t regicide.” You screw up your nose. He’s grossing you out. “This is SO much more interesting.” Suddenly, his face bubbles up out of the middle of his petals and turns into a disgusting, grotesque balloon-like thing. It cackles at you, then shrinks back into the center of the flower and burrows into the ground. You shudder, then shake your head and continue on.

 

Just behind Flowey, there is another arched doorway. Behind it, you can see only darkness. You take a step through and feel a tingling throughout your whole body… and then it stops.

 

You've left the ruins. It's time for your adventure to start.


	6. Snowdin Part 1: Meeting the Skeletons

You step out of the doorway into a whole new world. It feels like you've gone miles away from the ruins, and you feel a bit light-headed. The door has closed completely behind you, and there is no handle to open it. You’re in a huge, dark forest covered in snow. Trees with tops so high you can’t even see them line the little path you’re on. You shiver. There’s no wind, so it isn’t too bad temperature-wise, but the dead silent atmosphere is freaking you out a little bit. To your left is a bush. You squint at it, and the voice makes a surprised noise.  _ There’s a camera hidden in the bushes.  _ You wrinkle your nose and look around. Nothing but snow, ice, and tall black trees.

 

You start to walk forward, glad that you’re wearing your boots, and almost feel dizzy at how tall the trees are around you. You start to wish for Toriel, but quickly shake off the thought. You have to get home.

 

The snow crunches beneath your boots, and an ominous chill hangs in the air. You rub your arms.

 

After a bit of walking, you come across a big, tough-looking branch. Must have fallen from a tree. Maybe you can pick it up for a weapon… you tug at it. Nope. It’s way too heavy to pick up. It’s almost as big as a log.

 

You keep walking and suddenly you hear a huge, echoing  _ crack.  _ You turn back and your throat clenches up; the branch has been smashed like it’s nothing. You whip your head back and forth. There’s nobody there.

 

You walk faster, feeling your heart starting to creep up into your throat. You think you can still hear the crack of the branch reverberating through the forest. 

 

Suddenly, you hear a crunch of snow behind you and see something out of the corner of your eye. You prepare for the ground to fall away… ...but nobody comes.

 

You’re almost running now, taking little gasping breaths as you try to avoid looking behind you.

 

In a few moments, you come to a small, rickety bridge with a huge, barred gate built over it. You stop short, and just as you do, you hear a slow, crunching series of footsteps behind you. You’re paralyzed as they come closer and closer until you can feel cold breath on the back of your neck. You’re trembling so hard that the gate is beginning to look fuzzy. You desperately wish for Toriel.

 

“ _ H u m a n, _ ” an unearthly voice breathes in your ear. “ _ D o n’ t  y o u  k n o w  h o w  t o  g r e e t  a  n e w  p a l?  T u r n  a r o u n d  a n d  s h a k e  m y  h a n d. _ ”

 

Oh, no, you think as you let out a whimper. Not another Flowey. This one seems awful. You turn to the side, then behind you. All you see is a shadowy figure a bit taller than you. It reaches out a black limb with spidery fingers that don’t seem to have skin on them. You reach out and, with a sudden burst of confidence, grab the hand as hard as you can.

 

_ Pfffffttbbblrt-eeeeeep.  _ A massive farting sound comes out of it as you squeeze. You burst into giggles and your knees go weak. You hear a deep laugh from the figure, and look up at its face. It removes its hood (which you hadn’t noticed it was wearing) and the shadows around it fall away.

 

It’s a short, stout little skeleton—a real, live(?) skeleton—dressed in a shabby blue hoodie, a wrinkly white t-shirt, and trendy striped basketball shorts. It’s also wearing what appear to be a pair of slippers. They look pretty comfy. You wonder if its feet are cold, but then you realize that it’s a skeleton, so it doesn’t have skin and probably doesn’t get cold. It also has a wide, smiling face, and its eyesockets have little white dots in them (which makes them a lot less creepy). You feel your heart start beating out of excitement instead of fear. A real, live(?) skeleton! That’s awesome!

 

“heheh… the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. it’s ALWAYS funny.” You nod enthusiastically as he shows you the flat rubber disc in his hand before shoving it into an overstuffed pocket. 

 

“anyways, you’re a human, right?” He asks casually. You nod. “that’s hilarious.” You raise your eyebrows. Well, okay. If he says so. You personally think it’s pretty funny to see a  _ skeleton  _ talking to you, but whatever. “i’m sans. sans the skeleton.” Good. You’re glad he’s self-aware. “i’m actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now.” Your eyes widen a bit, but you aren’t worried. It seems he has more to say on the subject. Sure enough, he shrugs. “but… y’know… i don’t really care about capturing anybody.” Wait, what? Capturing? “now my brother, papyrus… he’s a human-hunting FANATIC!”

 

The fear comes back full-force and you gulp loudly. Um, does Sans understand that that’s kind of terrifying to you? “hey, actually…” Sans cranes his head to look behind you. “i think that’s him over there.”

 

Your heart starts pounding and you look at Sans fearfully. He winks at you, and it looks weird and funny because he’s a skeleton and shouldn’t have eyelids. You feel a little better, but you’re still scared.

 

“i have an idea. go through this gate thingy.” You look at him quizzically. “yeah, go right through. my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone.” He pushes you through the bars (which both of you can fit through easily) and into a small clearing. You can see the end of the forest up ahead. There are two large balls of slush, a lamp that’s conveniently just about your size, and a little shed.

 

“quick, behind that conveniently-shaped lamp.” Sans gestures to the lamp, and you position yourself behind it. Just as you get into place, you see another skeleton (who must be Papyrus) stomp into the clearing from the opposite direction.

 

This skeleton is  _ huge.  _ He’s taller than Toriel; easily seven feet. His skull is much longer and thinner than Sans’s, and he’s wearing some kind of uniform with a flowing orange scarf, white breastplate, orange gloves, and tall orange boots. He’s definitely a soldier or something, and he’s obsessed with hunting humans? Crap. Crap, crap,  _ crap.  _ Does Sans not understand how terrifying this is? You start trembling behind the lamp.

 

“‘sup, bro?” Sans says casually, either unaware or uncaring of your predicament.

 

“YOU KNOW WHAT ‘SUP,’ BROTHER!” Papyrus retorts shrilly. You  _ almost  _ burst out laughing, but stop yourself. He sounds like the skeleton warrior from a show you used to watch, but even sillier! It’s ridiculous. You can’t even describe it. It’s like a cackle or something, but he’s clearly taking himself very seriously, dragging out and over-enunciating his words.

 

“IT’S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN’T…” Haven’t what? Brushed up on… human-hunting? You shudder. His voice may be goofy, but that’s still one huge skeleton. “RECALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES!” Wait… what? Puzzles? More puzzles? “YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!?”

 

What  _ is  _ Sans doing? You carefully crane your head around to look at him. He seems utterly unfazed. 

 

“staring at this lamp. it’s pretty cool. do you wanna look?”  _ What?  _ No! Please, Sans, you’re not totally cool with all this yet, you can’t deal with a huge skeleton human-capturing you or whatever… 

 

“NO!! I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!!” Papyrus interrupts your train of thought. “WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE?!?” It strikes you as rather odd (and lucky for you) that Sans seems to want to help you out over helping his brother. Should you be suspicious?

 

“I WANT TO BE READY!!!” Papyrus goes on, but there’s no malice or anything in his voice. He just sounds anxious and excited. And loud. “I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN!” You start feeling uneasy again, but it’s not as bad as before. “THEN, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS… WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE!” Yep, you’re feeling better. He’s getting goofier. Still huge, but not as scary. “RESPECT… RECOGNITION…” He’s still yelling, but his tone is definitely more thoughtful now. “I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD!” Wait… he’s not already a member? He’s not a soldier? He’s just… a wannabe, you guess? Wow. Could have fooled you. Actually,  _ did  _ fool you.

 

“PEOPLE WILL ASK TO BE, MY, ‘FRIEND?’” Oh! Your heart breaks a little for him. “I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING.” Okay. Feeling less bad now. 

 

Sans finally looks up. “hmmm… maybe this lamp will help you.” Ahhh… it’s reverse psychology. You see his game. 

 

“SANS!! YOU ARE NOT HELPING!! YOU LAZYBONES!!” You almost snort. It’s funny because he’s literally lazy bones. “ALL YOU DO IS SIT AND BOONDOGGLE! YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERY DAY!!!” Aw. Poor Sans. 

 

“hey, take it easy,” Sans retaliates. “i’ve gotten a  _ ton  _ of work done today.” He turns to you ever so slightly and gives you a sly wink. “A  _ skele-ton. _ ” He slaps his knee. You flash a small smile.

 

“SANS!!!”

 

“come on. you’re smiling.” Well… of course he is, you think. His face is a skull.

 

“I AM AND I HATE IT!” He sighs loudly. “WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME… HAVE TO DO SO MUCH JUST TO GET SOME RECOGNITION…” His shoulders seem to deflate, and you can’t help but feel bad for him. A thought passes by that maybe you can let yourself get captured just to give the poor guy something to feel good about. Then you realize you’re still a little scared, because despite how funny he is, he’s still a seven-foot-tall skeleton.

 

Sans chuckles, snapping you out of your reverie. “wow, sounds like you’re really working yourself… down to the bone.” You almost snort, but catch yourself.

 

“UGH!!” Papyrus sighs. “I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES. AS FOR YOUR WORK?” He pauses. “PUT A LITTLE MORE, ‘BACKBONE’ INTO IT!!!! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!!!” He cackles, then gallops off.

 

You’re about to step away from the lamp when he come tiptoeing back. “HEH!” He leaves for real.

 

“okay, you can come out now.” You step out from behind the lamp, feeling a bit frazzled. You aren’t really sure how to process all this. Dazed, you walk up to Sans.

 

“you oughta get going,” he says. “he might come back. and if he does… you’ll have to sit through more of my hilarious jokes.” That doesn’t actually sound too bad, you think. You like puns, and you’re pretty sure you like Sans, too.

 

Regardless, you turn to examine the lamp and shed-thing.  _ Just a conveniently-shaped lamp,  _ the voice seems to shrug. Sometimes the voice isn’t very helpful. You move on to the shed.  _ It’s some sort of checkpoint or sentry-station. But there are bottles of ketchup, mustard, and relish sitting inside…  _ You wonder—d oes Sans sell hot dogs? You’re getting a little hungry, and you love hot dogs. Maybe if you go on, you can find some food. You’re about to leave the clearing when Sans speaks up.

 

“actually, hey…” He calls to you and sighs. “hate to bother ya, but can you do me a favor?” You cock your head to the side. What could he possibly want from you? “i was thinking… my brother’s been kind of down lately… he’s never seen a human before. and seeing you might just make his day.” You ponder this. Papyrus does seem like a sweetheart deep down, even if he’s a huge skeleton. Sans seems to read your mind and continues. “don’t worry, he’s not dangerous.” He grins cheekily. “even if he tries to be.” You grin and give a small nod. “thanks a million. i’ll be up ahead.” he doesn’t move.

 

You shrug and continue on. As soon as you enter the next clearing, you feel that huge swelling in your chest.

 

_ The convenience of that lamp still fills you with determination. _


	7. Snowdin Part 2: Puzzles and Dogs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a really long chapter to write! Sorry it's so late.

You think it’s a bit silly that the lamp would fill you with so much determination, but it’s true. It was so cool!

 

You look across the clearing. It’s lined with trees, but these are much smaller than the ones in the forest you were just in. They seem to be there to denote paths, of which there are two—straight and up. You also notice a large chest-like box with a sign next to it. You read the sign:  _ This is a box. You can put an item in or take an item out. The same box will appear later, so don’t worry about coming back. Sincerely, a box lover.  _ Well, that’s convenient! You’re carrying a bit much. You’ve got your stick and the ribbon you’re wearing, not to mention your pie, candy, bandage, and the toy knife. You decide that the knife and the pie can go into the box, and you’ll keep the rest. There’s also a kid-sized boxing glove in the box (a  _ Tough Glove,  _ the voice whispers), but you decide to leave it there because it isn’t yours.

 

You’re about to go check out the northern section when you hear a rustling in the woods and the ground falls away. Weird, you feel more comfortable in the battle arena (or box, whatever it is) than outside. Maybe because it’s less cold. 

 

_ Snowdrake flutters forth!  _ The voice announces. Whoa, what is this thing? It looks like an angry bird with a snowflake for a face. Very geometric. You miss learning about shapes in school; you did that last year.

 

You survey your  _ ACT  _ options:  _ Check, Heckle, Laugh,  _ and  _ Joke.  _ Hmmm… something tells you that you’ll have to Laugh later, but for now you don’t really know what to do, so you decide to Check for once.

 

_ Snowdrake, six ATK two DEF,  _ the voice rattles off.  _ This teen comedian fights to keep an active audience.  _ Yep, just like you thought—you’ll probably be able to Spare him by laughing at his jokes. 

 

_ Ice puns are “snow” problem,  _ Snowdrake snickers. You resist the urge to wrinkle up your nose.  That one wasn’t even that good. Snowdrake’s attack consists of little crescent things flying at you in straight lines from all sides of the box. Formidable, but simple enough to dodge.

 

_ Snowdrake is assessing the crowd,  _ says the voice. You wonder what he thinks of you. You navigate to  _ ACT  _ and select Laugh even though you aren’t very impressed.

 

_ You laugh at Snowdrake’s pun,  _ the voice says with the tiniest hint of pity. 

 

_ See!? Laughs! Dad was wrong!  _ Ohhh… gosh, that’s actually kinda sad. If you had a kid you would make sure to tell them to follow their dreams no matter what. Of course,  _ you’re  _ still a kid for now, but, you know. When you grow up.

 

You feel something jab into you and realize that you haven’t been paying attention at all. Snowdrake is attacking. It’s easy to forget that you can actually get hurt here.

 

You dodge the rest of the attacks. The voice speaks up:  _ Snowdrake is pleased with its “cool” joke.  _ You laugh to yourself. Sounds like the voice is a kindred spirit. You Spare Snowdrake.

 

_ YOU WON! You earned zero EXP and twelve gold.  _ Twelve gold? Not bad! You wonder what you can buy with that.

 

You continue walking upwards and come across a lovely deep blue canal. The water rushes with a soothing sound. You feel, somehow, that if you fell in, you wouldn’t freeze. Of course, you have no desire to go in. But still.

 

There’s a fishing pole perched on the bank of the river with a line dangling into the water. It probably wouldn’t hurt to see what’s going on in there. You walk up to it.

 

_ It’s a fishing rod affixed to the ground… reel it in?  _ The voice asks. You nod and pull up the line.  _ All that’s attached to the end is a photo of a weird-looking monster…  _ Oh, that’s not very nice. The voice seems to have a bit of a mean streak. You read the back of the photo:  _ Call me! Here’s my number!  _ You hesitate. Um… The voice speaks up:  _ You decide not to call.  _ Good call, voice. You throw the line back into the water anyway. Maybe he’s attractive to other monsters.

 

You walk back to the box area and continue on your way, going… never eat soggy waffles… east. You step into the clearing and see the two skeleton brothers facing each other, blocking your path.

 

“SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE,” Papyrus is saying as you walk up. Suddenly, he turns in your direction. Then he turns to Sans. Sans turns to you, then back to him. Papyrus turns to you, then back to Sans. Sans turns to you. It gets faster. You get dizzy.

 

“SANS!! OH MY GOD!! IS THAT… A HUMAN?!?!?!?!?!?!” You’re about to give a bashful grin when you realize that his eyesockets (which actually look quite warm and kind, somehow) aren’t facing you. He’s pointing at a rock a bit behind you.

 

You sigh.

 

“uhhhh… actually, i think that’s a rock.” Sans smiles.

 

“OH.” Papyrus responds flatly.

 

“hey, what’s that in front of the rock?” Sans prods. Finally, Papyrus looks at you. You see his brow-bone shoot up. Even though there are no eyes in his eyesockets, you swear you can see them brighten. 

 

“OH MY GOD!!!” Papyrus turns to Sans and whisper-shouts “(IS… IS THAT A HUMAN)”

 

“(yes)” Sans replies.

 

“OH MY GOD!!!” Papyrus turns back to you. He doesn’t look scary or predatory or anything you would expect from a human-hunting fanatic. He just looks thrilled and even a little anxious. Maybe Sans is right that he isn’t dangerous. “SANS! I FINALLY DID IT!!”

 

You almost giggle, but clap your hand over your mouth. That would be mean.

 

“UNDYNE WILL… I’M GONNA… I’LL BE SO…” He’s so excited he’s stammering. You can see him dancing a little in the snow. It’s the absolute cutest thing you’ve ever seen. Sans notices you struggling to contain your adoring expression and gives you a sly smile and wink.

 

“POPULAR!!! POPULAR!!! POPULAR!!!” Papyrus finally bursts out, throwing his hands in the air. Suddenly, he looks around and clears his throat. “AHEM.” He adjusts his flowing scarf, then adopts an expression that you assume is supposed to look threatening. “HUMAN! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA!” You think of a movie you saw the older kids watching where a funny old wizard said  _ “Youuuu shallll notttt paaassss!!”  _ You feel like Papyrus is cooler than he was, though.

 

“I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU!!!” You do your best to look nervous. Sans gives you a thumbs-up. 

 

“I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU!” You widen your eyes. Sans is struggling to contain his laughter.

 

“YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL!” Um… you’re not sure how to react to that. 

 

“THEN... “ Papyrus opens his mouth, then closes it. “THEN!!!” He frowns deeply, then gives up and shrugs. “I’M NOT SURE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.” Your eyes are watering from holding in laughter. You want to hug his legs so bad! “IN ANY CASE… CONTINUE… ONLY IF YOU DARE!!” He runs (actually, more like skips) off, laughing “NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!!” It’s not a cackle this time though; he genuinely seems happy and excited.

 

Sans turns to you. “well, that went well.” You giggle. “don’t sweat it, kid. i’ll keep an eyesocket out for ya.” he winks, then follows Papyrus.

 

You smile to yourself for a moment. You can’t believe you were ever even a little scared of either of the brothers. Papyrus doesn’t seem to have a mean  _ bone  _ in his body! Ha!

 

You hear the voice giggle. You’re glad they appreciate  _ your  _ puns.

 

You walk further through the clearing and come to a poorly constructed cardboard shack. Awww, this must be Papyrus’s sentry station! You look closer…

 

_ There’s some narration on this cardboard box.  _ Suddenly, the voice turns into… Papyrus’s voice?  _ YOU OBSERVE THE WELL-CRAFTED SENTRY STATION. WHO COULD HAVE BUILT THIS, YOU PONDER…  _ Obediently, you ponder for a moment.  _ I BET IT WAS THAT VERY FAMOUS ROYAL GUARDSMAN! (NOTE: NOT YET A VERY FAMOUS ROYAL GUARDSMAN.)  _

 

Well, you’re more confused than ever about what the voice is, but at least you’re entertained!

 

You move on. In the next clearing, you see a sign along with another sentry station with a carving of a puppy on the roof. You read the sign:  _ Absolutely NO MOVING!!! _ Um… okay, but you kind of have to move. You shrug and continue walking. As soon as you come up to the station, you see a black-and-white head slowly rise from under the counter. It’s a dog! He looks like a cute mutt.

 

“Did something move? Was it my imagination?” He growls. “I can only see moving things. If something WAS moving… for example, a human… I’ll make sure it NEVER moves again!”

 

As the ground falls away, you feel a little worried, but not too much. He doesn’t seem that dangerous, and he doesn’t even know if you’re there.

 

_ Doggo blocks the way!  _ The voice warns. Awww, his name is Doggo? That’s so cute! The fact that he’s wearing a tough-looking tank top and carrying two knives only makes it better. You survey your  _ ACT _ options, but have a feeling you’ll want to choose something that doesn’t involve moving. You decide to Check.

 

_ DOGGO six ATK one DEF. Easily excited by movement. Hobbies include: squirrels.  _ Ah! You might just die of cute.

 

_ Don’t move an inch!  _ Doggo commands. You decide to obey him; maybe that’s actually what you’re supposed to do. A blade—colored light blue instead of the white you’re used to—slides across the box. You remain motionless. Nothing happens. Yes! You were right.

 

_ Doggo can’t seem to find anything.  _ You select  _ ACT _ again and immediately choose Pet.

 

_ You pet Doggo,  _ the voice narrates as you quickly reach out and pet the top of his head.

 

_ WHAT!!! I’VE BEEN PET!!!  _ Doggo is barking excitedly and looking in every direction with a goofy expression.  _ Pat? Pet? Pot? Pat? Pot?  _ He says erratically as the blue blade swipes across the box.

 

_ Doggo has been pet.  _ You Spare.

 

_ YOU WON! You earned zero EXP and thirty gold.  _ Thirty? Niiiice.

 

“S-s-s-something pet me… Something that isn’t m-m-moving… I’m gonna need some dog treats for this!!!” He slinks back down under the counter. You continue on your way and notice some half-burned dog biscuits next to Doggo’s station. Looks like someone’s been smoking dog treats.

 

In the next area, you find Sans waiting for you. “hey, here’s something important to remember. my brother has a very **special attack**.” Wait, what? Papyrus actually attacks? “if you see a **blue** **attack** , don’t move and it won’t hurt you.” A little late on that, but you appreciate the thought. “here’s an easy way to keep it in mind. imagine a stop sign. when you see a stop sign, you **stop** , right? stop signs are **red**. so imagine a **blue** stop sign instead.” Your eyebrows go up dubiously. “simple, right? when fighting, just think about **blue stop signs**.”

 

You cross your arms. Sans shrugs. Well, that… wasn’t the most helpful thing in the world. You see a patch of ice in front of you. You slide onto it— _ really  _ slide, like, you couldn’t stop if you wanted—and bump into a sign.  _ North: Ice. South: Ice. West: Ice. East: Snowdin Town (... and ice).  _ Hm. You decide to check out the north anyway.

 

North of the sign, there’s a very small area with nothing in it but a snowman, who begins to talk to you. At this point, you’re not even surprised. Well, a little. But not a lot.

 

“Hello. I am a snowman.” He seems very calm and wise. “I want to see the world… But I cannot move.” Oh… that’s actually pretty sad. “If you would be so kind, traveller, please… Take a piece of me and bring it very far away.” You nod immediately. You’re going  _ very  _ far away, and this snowman deserves to see the world however he can!

 

“Thank you… good luck!” With the snowman’s guidance, you take off a little bit of his middle segment. It’s cold, but not watery or melty at all, like fine powder. You put the snowman piece in your pocket, smile, wave, and go back to the clearing to travel east.

 

In the next clearing, you see the skeleton brothers standing in front of a large square of thin, dark ice. Papyrus is hilariously berating Sans.

 

“YOU’RE SO LAZY!! YOU WERE NAPPING ALL NIGHT!!”

 

“i think that’s called…” Sans glances at you. “...sleeping.”

 

“EXCUSES, EXCUSES!” They’d make a great sitcom. You can almost hear the laugh track! It’d be like that show about the two stepbrothers that are opposites.

 

Papyrus notices you, and his skull lights up. “O-HO! THE HUMAN ARRIVES!” You give a little wave, and he nods seriously. “IN ORDER TO STOP YOU… MY BROTHER AND I HAVE CREATED SOME PUZZLES! I THINK YOU WILL FIND THIS ONE…” He smirks, but not cruelly. “...QUITE SHOCKING!!! FOR YOU SEE, THIS IS THE INVISIBLE… ELECTRICITY MAZE!!! WHEN YOU TOUCH THE WALLS OF THIS MAZE,” Papyrus pulls a small ball out of his pocket, “THIS ORB WILL ADMINISTER A HEARTY ZAP! SOUND LIKE FUN???” You’re not sure how to react. “BECAUSE! THE AMOUNT OF FUN YOU WILL PROBABLY HAVE, IS ACTUALLY RATHER SMALL I THINK.”

 

You can’t hold back a giggle, but luckily Papyrus doesn’t notice. 

 

“OK, YOU CAN GO AHEAD NOW,” he politely informs you. Wait… if he’s holding the orb, won’t it just shock him? Uh… he’s looking at you expectantly, so you just take a step forward. You hear a sizzling sound and Papyrus looks burned black. 

 

“SANS!!! WHAT DID YOU DO?!?!” Papyrus stamps his foot on the ground. 

 

“i think the human has to hold the orb,” Sans informs him.

 

“OH, OKAY.” Papyrus starts walking over to you… oh no… he’s leaving footprints in the snow… you can see the solution… you can’t tell him… he worked so hard on this… oh no… gosh, you feel like Napstablook…

 

By the time he’s made his way over to you, the entire solution is evident. You can see Sans shaking his head with a smile. Papyrus is standing in front of you, and just out of pure instinct, you feel a bit scared. Well, more like intimidated. He’s towering over you and you have to crane your head alllll the way back just to see his kind, smiling face. 

 

“HOLD THIS PLEASE!” He holds out the orb. You hesitate, then reach out and grab it. He trots back.

 

“OKAY, TRY NOW!” Well… okay. You literally follow in Papyrus’s footsteps and make itto the other side.

 

“INCREDIBLE!! YOU SLIPPERY SNAIL!! YOU SOLVED IT SO EASILY… TOO EASILY!” You glance at Sans. He shakes his head. “HOWEVER!! THE NEXT PUZZLE WILL NOT BE EASY! IT IS DESIGNED BY MY BROTHER, SANS! YOU WILL SURELY BE CONFOUNDED! I KNOW I AM! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!” He runs off to the next clearing. You turn to Sans, who looks a lot happier and more relaxed than when you met him, for some reason.

 

“hey, thanks… my brother seems like he’s having fun.” You grin shyly. Sans seems genuinely thankful. “by the way, did you see that weird outfit he’s wearing?” Weird? You thought it was pretty cool. “we made that a few weeks ago for a costume party.” Wow, really? Well, it’s excellent craftsmanship. “he hasn’t worn anything else since… keeps calling it his ‘battle body.’” Sans shakes his head. “man. isn’t my brother cool?” You nod eagerly.

 

You walk to the next area, thinking about the brothers. If Toriel reminded you of a better Teacher or Nurse, Sans reminds you of the cool older kids at the home. The cool kids were the ones who weren’t mean to you and the other little kids, and let you guys play with their video games and watch movies with them. Sometimes they even took you to the mall or playground. They dressed like Sans too, you realize. Meanwhile, Papyrus acts like… a kid like you! Maybe that’s why you like them so much.

 

You notice what looks like an ice cream stand manned by a blue… bunny-like thing to your left. You walk up to him.

 

“I don’t understand why these aren’t selling… It’s the perfect weather for something cold…” He mumbles. Then he opens one eye and notices you. “OH!!!! A CUSTOMER!!!” He’s more excited than Papyrus! Even his ears perked up. “Hello! Would you like some Nice Cream? It’s the frozen treat that warms your heart! Now just 15G!” Hmmm… you have 46G right now. Ice cream couldn't hurt. You smile and hand him 15 gold coins.

 

“Here you go! Have a super-duper day!” He gives you a blue package with an ice-cream bar in it. Yum! You’ll have this later. The ice cream man looks so happy that it makes you happy too.

 

The rest of the area is comprised of a little arena leading to a patch of ice and a hole with a huge snowball at the top. Instinctively, you run to shove the snowball into the hole. It takes a while and you keep slipping on the ice, but eventually you get it into the hole. A noise sounds and a blue flag shoots up. The voice reads you:  _ BLUE: Hopping and twirling, your original style pulled you through.  _ On the ground are two gold coins. You wander over to a snowball (or snowdecahedron) on the ground, then realize that the flag has vanished.

 

You walk back up to the top, where Sans is waiting. “i’ve been thinking about selling treats too. want some fried snow? it’s only 5G.” You shake your head. Can’t afford that right now. Also, don’t want it. “you’re right. i should charge way more than that.”

 

The area next to Sans is just a small cliffside with two sentry stations like Doggo’s and a sign in between them. The one on the left reads “His” and the one on the right reads “Hers.” The sign reads:  _ SMELL DANGER RATING. Snow smell—Snowman. WHITE rating. Can become YELLOW rating. Unsuspicious smell—Puppy. BLUE rating. Smell of rolling around. Weird Smell—Humans. GREEN  _ (although it’s written in red)  _ rating. Destroy at all costs!  _ Hm. Well, none of that made any sense at all. Wonderful.

 

You walk back to the clearing and exit through the lower area by the hole ( _ Ah! Wow! Woah! It’s a “hole,”  _ the voice sarcastically informs you). It’s Sans and Papyrus again, this time with a… piece of paper in front of them?

 

“HUMAN!!!” Papyrus announces. “I HOPE YOU’RE READY FOR…” He trails off and seems to notice the piece of paper for the first time. “SANS!! WHERE’S THE PUZZLE!!!!”

 

“it’s right there. on the ground.” Sans lifts his hand, then lets it fall. “trust me. there’s no way they can get past this one.”

 

Um. Okay. You walk up to the piece of paper. It’s a word jumble—“Monster Kidz Word Search”—with a dog-like ice cube asking “Hey kids! Can you help me solve this puzzle?”

 

You walk over to the brothers. “SANS!!! THAT DIDN’T DO ANYTHING!” He sounds so indignant! You’re laughing inside. 

 

“whoops. i knew i should have used today’s crossword instead.”

 

“WHAT!? CROSSWORD!?” Papyrus seems to have forgotten about you for a moment. “I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT!! IN MY OPINION… JUNIOR JUMBLE IS EASILY THE HARDEST.” He glares at the puzzle.

 

“what? really, dude? that easy-peasy word scramble? that’s for baby bones.” He looks at you. You wince. That was a weak one. 

 

Papyrus brings the back of his hand to his forehead. “UN. BELIEVABLE.” Then he turns to you. “HUMAN!!! SOLVE THIS DISPUTE!”

 

Still going by your plan of being cool and silent like the lady in that game (at least, whenever you can), you point to Papyrus and nod. You hate word jumbles. With crosswords you can work on them with friends or look up the solutions, but jumbles are just boring and dumb.

 

“HA! HA! YES!” Papyrus claps his hands. “HUMANS MUST BE VERY INTELLIGENT! IF THEY ALSO FIND JUNIOR JUMBLE SO DIFFICULT! NYEH! HEH! HEH HEH!” He skips off.

 

“thanks for saying ‘junior jumble’ just to appease my brother. yesterday he got stumped trying to ‘solve’ the horoscope.” Hm, they have horoscopes down here? That’s… odd. Aren’t you underground? Don’t horoscopes have to do with the stars? Oh, well. You’ll learn.

 

You walk into the next area, a little field under a shelf of trees. There’s a note, a table with a plate of food, and a microwave. You notice a small mouse hole in the shelf of rock.

 

You read the note.  _ It’s a note from Papyrus…  _ the voice informs.  _ HUMAN!! PLEASE ENJOY THIS SPAGHETTI. (LITTLE DO YOU KNOW, THIS SPAGHETTI IS A TRAP… DESIGNED TO ENTICE YOU!!! YOU’LL BE SO BUSY EATING IT… THAT YOU WON’T REALIZE YOU AREN’T PROGRESSING!! THOROUGHLY JAPED AGAIN BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS!!!) NYEH-HEH-HEH  _ (he’s actually written it out) _ , PAPYRUS. _

 

You’re delighted by the note. However, you’re not so delighted as you look at the spaghetti. It’s frozen, and it’s stuck to the table, just like the cheese in the ruins. Ew. Also, the microwave isn’t plugged in, and all the settings say “spaghetti.” You go up to the mouse hole and hear a cute little “squeak.” 

 

You feel a swelling in your chest…

 

_ Knowing the mouse might one day find a way to heat up the spaghetti… it fills you with determination. _


	8. Snowdin Part 3: More Puzzles and Dogs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The importance of comments: they act as a serious inspiration! Also, I'd just like everyone to know that the chapters take so long because I literally type every piece of dialogue directly from the game, right down to the number of Papyrus's exclamation points. I'm a stickler for that kind of stuff. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy!

Oh my gosh. You’ve just realized that Snowdrake… was a bird snowflake… and a drake is a male duck. Snowdrake. Wow. That’s… really cool. He would love that.

 

Anyway. You continue on. The next area is huge. You decide to explore the south first. Uh-oh… spike wall. But there’s a weird little square of white next to it...

 

After cautiously tiptoeing onto the white patch, you realize that the snow scatters like dandelion puffs when you step on it. After a few minutes of happily kicking the snow around, you see that it’s actually a map of the area… with a big red X at the top right. You wander over to that area in the real world and notice that the X corresponds to a little blue patch in the upper right of the field. Sure enough, the voice pipes up: _There’s a switch hidden in the snow._ You jump on it. _Click!_ Yes!

 

You’re about to cross the spikes when the ground falls away. You look up at your attacker and squeal in joy. It’s a fluffy dog with its tongue lolling out! And it’s even wearing a suit of armor and has a shield! You might pass out. You desperately hope there’s an _ACT_ option to pet it.

 

 _Lesser Dog appears,_ says the voice. Lesser Dog? Lesser than what? This is a perfect dog! To your delight, there is not only one option to Pet, but rather five. You pick one of them, but before you can even touch it, Lesser Dog’s head shoots up a few inches.

 

 _You barely lifted your hand and Lesser Dog got excited._ Lesser Dog gives a tiny bark. Its attack consists of a little puppy running across the screen trying to get at your heart. You wouldn’t mind if it hit you.

 

 _Lesser Dog cocks its head to one side._ Ahhh! You love it when dogs do that. You Pet again.

 

 _You lightly touched the Dog. It’s already overexcited…_ It sure is. It’s panting uncontrollably.

 

 _Lesser Dog is barking excitedly._ So cute! You Pet.

 

 _You pet the Dog. It raises its head up to meet your head._ It really is… in fact, its neck seems to be growing longer. Which actually makes sense. You can envision dogs in your world doing that if they had the ability.

 

The voice continues to tell you that the Dog is barking, panting, or excited. You Pet again, and the voice says: _You pet the Dog. It was a good Dog._ You agree wholeheartedly with the voice, and it seems they are enjoying this battle as well.

 

 _Lesser Dog is overstimulated,_ the voice warns. Okay. Maybe it’s time to Spare. Regrettably, you choose _MERCY._ Luckily, the Dog’s head goes back to normal.

 

 _YOU WON! You earned zero EXP and twenty gold._ Yes! More gold for ice cream! Or… Nice Cream!

 

You go on your way through the retracted spikes, still glowing from your encounter with Lesser Dog, and cross a few platforms and a bridge. Suddenly, you hear footsteps. More dogs! These ones are dressed all in black, wearing heavy hoods. The dogs are white, though, and look more like Doggo than Lesser Dog.

 

They stand (attempting to be menacing) on either side of you.

 

“What’s that smell?” Says one.

 

“(Where’s that smell?)” Whispers the other.

 

“If you’re a smell…”

 

“(...identify yoursmellf!)”

 

A catchy jingle plays as the dogs dance around you.

 

“Hmmm… here’s that weird smell… It makes me want to eliminate.” Uh oh.

 

“(...Eliminate YOU!)” Well, duh, you think as the ground falls away. Suddenly, you remember the two weird sentry stations with the “smell rating” sign. Darn, what did it say about puppies again?

 

 _Dogi assault you!_ The voice announces. Hmmm. You’re probably going to have to change your smell somehow. Oh! A puppy smell was… the smell of rolling around? You think?

 

You check your _ACT_ options. Check, Re-Sniff, Pet, or Roll Around. Rolling Around seems to be your best bet.

 

 _You roll around in the dirt and snow._ Wow. This does not feel great. _You smell like a weird puppy._ Great.

 

 _Don’t touch my hot dog!_ The husband dog, Dogamy, says. _(He means me.)_ The wife dog, Dogaressa, replies. Their attack consists of two huge axes coming down at slightly different times. You realize that you have to go to the middle, then the side, then the middle, but it’s tough. You almost get hit.

 

 _The dogs may want to smell you again,_ the voice informs. You select Re-Sniff.

 

_The dogs sniff you again… after rolling in the dirt, you smell all right!_

 

 _What! Smells like a… (Are you actually a little puppy?!)_ They use the axe attack again, which you dodge easily.

 

 _The Dogs think that you may be a lost puppy,_ clarifies the voice. Hmmm… where does this take you? Pet could work, it’s the only one you haven’t tried…

 

You have to pet them one at a time, though. You choose Dogamy first.

 

 _You pet Dogamy._ You feel a little weird petting Dogamy; he seems more like a person than a dog. He seems fine with it, though: _Wow!!! Pet by another pup!!!_ Dogaressa huffs. _(Well. Don’t leave me out!)_ Have dogs really never thought of petting each other? What a lovely world that would be.

 

You Pet Dogaressa next. _(A dog that pets other dogs… Amazing!)_ Dogamy, seeming to suffer from short-term memory loss, whines _What about me……………_

 

 _The Dogs’ minds have been expanded,_ the voice announces. You Spare.

 

“Dogs can pet other dogs?”

 

“(A new world has opened up for us…)”

 

“Thanks, weird puppy!” You wave as they hurry off. You hope the new world is full of lots of petting!

 

You walk down to the next area, where a new puzzle awaits. Two large blue X’s in the snow surrounded by slushballs, a switch, and a sign. Sign first. You read: _Turn every X into an O. Then press the switch._ Oh. Easy enough. You feel like you played a game like this once. You assume you can’t step on an O again once you’ve turned it into an O. You step on both X’s and press the switch. Click! You have a feeling that this is going to get harder.

 

You hadn’t even noticed there were spikes blocking your way, you were so involved with the puzzle. Papyrus is standing by the now-retracted spikes. It’s the first time you’ve seen him without Sans. You’re almost completely not scared of him anymore, and his sweet smile is quickly melting away that last bit of intimidation.

 

Upon seeing you, though, he frowns (comically). “WHAT!? HOW DID YOU AVOID MY TRAP? AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY…” He grins hopefully. “IS THERE ANY LEFT FOR ME???”

 

Oh… what should you tell him about his spaghetti? Ate it or left it? Well, you don’t want to lie to him. You hope you won’t hurt his feelings.

 

You point backwards and shake your head, hoping you got the point across.

 

His eyes light up, and your heart drops. Oh, no… you hope he doesn’t think you ate it. “REALLY!? WOWIE…” You giggle. You’ve never heard anyone say “wowie” in real life before. “YOU RESISTED THE FLAVOR OF MY HOMECOOKED PASTA… JUST SO YOU COULD SHARE IT WITH ME???” He clasps his hands to his chest, looking genuinely touched. “FRET NOT HUMAN! I, MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS… WILL MAKE YOU ALL THE PASTA YOU COULD EVER WANT! HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH NYEH!” He dashes off.

 

Ohhh… your heart is swelling! You want to be his best friend! You hope he doesn’t still _really_ want to capture you…

 

You walk into the next room. Papyrus is standing just to your left. He smiles down at you, then strikes up a strangely casual conversation. “MY BROTHER STARTED A SOCK COLLECTION RECENTLY,” he says, talking to you as though you were a school friend instead of a rare human he needs to capture. “HOW SADDENING…” He sighs. “SOMETIMES I WONDER WHAT HE WOULD DO… WITHOUT SUCH A COOL GUY TAKING CARE OF HIM??? NYEH HEH HEH!”

 

Hmmm… something tells you that while Sans may be lazy, he’s the brother who’s _actually_ taking care of things in their house. You wonder which one’s older. You’re guessing it’s Sans, even though Papyrus is huge. It reminds you of that cartoon you used to watch about two brothers who could move metal with their minds. The older one was a lot shorter, and he hated it. Ha ha. Sans doesn’t seem to be bothered by that, though.

 

You walk on towards the puzzle, and Papyrus zips up next to you. “HUMAN!” He calls. “HMMM… HOW DO I SAY THIS… YOU WERE TAKING A LONG TIME TO ARRIVE, SO… I DECIDED TO IMPROVE THIS PUZZLE… BY ARRANGING THE SNOW TO LOOK MORE LIKE MY FACE.” You look at Papyrus and raise your eyebrows. He sighs and continues: “UNFORTUNATELY, THE SNOW FROZE TO THE GROUND.” He frowns. “NOW THE SOLUTION IS DIFFERENT! AND, AS USUAL, MY LAZY BROTHER IS NOWHERE AROUND. I SUPPOSE WHAT I AM SAYING IS…” He clears his throat and tosses his scarf over his shoulder so that it flutters heroically in the wind. “WORRY NOT, HUMAN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL SOLVE THIS CONUNDRUM! THEN WE CAN BOTH PROCEED!”

 

Ohhh… so he’s stuck too? You giggle. “MEANWHILE, FEEL FREE TO TRY THE PUZZLE YOURSELF!” He encourages you. “I’LL TRY NOT TO GIVE AWAY THE ANSWER!!!”

 

You nod and survey the puzzle. It’s another X and O puzzle, but this one seems a little more difficult. Actually, a lot more difficult. Um… gosh. This looks really hard. Hmmm… you _have_ been wanting to talk to Papyrus more… why don’t you ask him for help?

 

You walk up to him, suddenly feeling a bit shy. Papyrus notices that you have to crane your head to talk to him and kneels down. He’s still taller than you, but you appreciate the effort. You point at the puzzle and shrug. Papyrus chuckles.

 

“SO, YOU WANT A HINT, HUH?” He squints at the puzzle. “WELL, I’VE BEEN LOOKING AT THE PUZZLE… AND I THINK THE SOLUTION… IS TO TURN ALL THE X’S INTO O’S! YOU SHOULD TRY THAT! AS AGAIN FOR MORE GREAT HINTS!”

 

You sigh and hang your head. Papyrus taps his chin.

 

“MAYBE SOLVING THE **LAST PUZZLE** AGAIN WILL HELP. ASK AGAIN FOR MORE GREAT HINTS!!”

 

You jump up and down. (That’s what the lady in the game did when a robot asked her to say “apple.”) Papyrus laughs and slaps his knee.

 

“EUREKA!!! I’VE FIGURED OUT THE PUZZLE!!! YOU SEEM LIKE YOU’RE HAVING FUN, THOUGH…” You smile guiltily and Papyrus hesitates, then pats your head. You want to hug him so badly! “DO YOU ABSOLUTELY, DAPSOLUTELY WANT THE SOLUTION???”

 

Yes. You absolutely, dapsolutely want the answer. You nod eagerly.

 

“THE! SOLUTION! IS!” He pauses and whispers: “(PLEASE IMAGINE A DRUMROLL IN YOUR HEAD)... THAT TREE OVER THERE HAS A SWITCH ON IT!” He points to the tree next to him. What!? That was the solution?! “CHECK IT OUTIE!!!” He does a little jiggy dance move. You give him “finger guns” (it’s the coolest thing the older kids do) and step in front of the tree. Oh! There _is_ a switch on the trunk of the tree! You press it.

 

Hmmm… nothing seems to have happened. Maybe you still need to step on the switch. You do so. Yep! It worked! Yay!

 

“WOW!!! YOU SOLVED IT!!” Papyrus exclaims. “MY ADVICE HELPED! IT REALLY HELPED YOU!!” You nod enthusiastically. “INCREDIBLE! I’M IMPRESSED!! YOU MUST CARE ABOUT PUZZLES LIKE I DO!” Well, maybe not as much as he does, but you do like them! They’re fun. They remind you of video games!

 

“WELL, I’M SURE YOU’LL LOVE THE NEXT PUZZLE THEN! IT MIGHT EVEN BE TOO EASY FOR YOU!!” He’s so happy and genuine! “NYEH! HEH HEH! HEHEHEH!” He jogs away. You make your way through the puzzle and run into Sans.

 

“good job on solving it so quickly,” he winks. “you didn’t even need my help. which is great, ‘cause i love doing absolutely nothing.” You wink back. Or try to. You don’t quite know how yet. Sans covers one of your eyes with his bony hand (which is surprisingly warm) and you blink your other eye. “there ya go, kid. you did it.”

 

You grin and move on. The next area consists of a bridge, a strange patchwork of tiles in varying shades of gray, an odd computery-looking machine, and the skeletons.

 

As soon as you walk in, Papyrus perks up. “HEY! IT’S THE HUMAN!” He waves excitedly. You wave back. “YOU’RE GONNA LOVE THIS PUZZLE! IT WAS MADE BY THE GREAT DR. ALPHYS!” Oooh, that actually does sound pretty cool! “YOU SEE THESE TILES!?” You nod. “ONCE I THROW THIS SWITCH… THEY WILL BEGIN TO CHANGE COLOR! EACH COLOR HAS A DIFFERENT FUNCTION!” Oh, crap. Memorizing. You’re bad at that. RED TILES ARE IMPASSIBLE! YOU CANNOT WALK ON THEM!” Okay! Stop signs are red. Not blue. Shoot, Sans is confusing you. No red!

 

“YELLOW TILES ARE ELECTRIC! THEY WILL ELECTROCUTE YOU!” Uh… yellow means… yield? Or pee? Or… lightning, you guess. Yeah. Yellow is lightning and bad!

 

“GREEN TILES ARE ALARM TILES! IF YOU STEP ON THEM... YOU WILL HAVE TO FIGHT A MONSTER!!” Okay… um… Froggit was green! He was the first monster you fought!

 

“ORANGE-TILES ARE ORANGE-SCENTED. THEY WILL MAKE YOU SMELL DELICIOUS!” Um… okay! Easy enough to remember!

 

“BLUE TILES ARE WATER TILES. SWIM THROUGH THEM IF YOU LIKE, BUT... IF YOU SMELL LIKE ORANGES! THE PIRANHAS WILL BITE YOU.” Agh! What? Okay, so… um… orange and blue are clashing colors!

 

“ALSO, IF A BLUE TILE IS NEXT TO A, YELLOW TILE, THE WATER WILL ALSO ZAP YOU!” Ummm… lightning and water don’t mix?

 

“PURPLE TILES ARE SLIPPERY! YOU WILL SLIDE TO THE NEXT TILE! HOWEVER, THE SLIPPERY SOAP... SMELLS LIKE LEMONS!! WHICH PIRANHAS DO NOT LIKE! PURPLE AND BLUE ARE OKAY!” Um… those colors look alike… so they’re okay together…

  


“FINALLY, PINK TILES. THEY DON'T DO ANYTHING. STEP ON THEM ALL YOU LIKE.” Okay! Pink is the color of love! You love pink tiles!

 

“HOW WAS THAT!? UNDERSTAND???”

 

Okay. So. Red are stop signs. Blue are water with piranhas. Yellow is electric. Orange is orange smelling. Orange and blue clash. Yellow and blue clash. Purple and yellow… no, blue… purple and blue go together. And purple is slippery. Um… Oh! Green! Monster tiles like Froggit. And pink is lovely!

 

You nod your head and give Papyrus a thumbs-up.

 

“GREAT!! THEN THERE’S ONE LAST THING… THIS PUZZLE… IS ENTIRELY RANDOM!!!!!! WHEN I PULL THIS SWITCH, IT WILL MAKE A PUZZLE… THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE! NOT EVEN I WILL KNOW THE SOLUTION! NYEH HEH HEH! GET READY…!”

 

Papyrus pulls the switch. You hear a computerized _booping_ as the tiles begin to flash all kinds of different colors. They flash and flash… faster and faster… and the beeping speeds up, until…

 

It’s… a pink walkway surrounded by red.

 

You’re amused, but also pretty disappointed. That sounded like a really fun puzzle.

 

Papyrus twirls away.

 

You walk across the pink tiles and talk to Sans. “actually, that spaghetti from earlier… it wasn’t too bad for my brother.” Hmmm… you wouldn’t know. It was frozen and you didn’t eat it. “since he started cooking lessons, he’s been improving a lot.” Awww, cooking lessons? Could Papyrus get any more adorable? “i bet if he keeps it up, next year he’ll even make something edible.” You frown. Either Sans is being overly mean, or Papyrus… isn’t the best at cooking.

 

You continue on. The next area is covered in big, twisting sculptures, bases, and broken snowdog heads. It’s both cute and tragic. You go up to the dog-headed sentry station and read the sign: _AWARE OF DOG. pleas pet dog._ Awwww!! Where is the dog? You want to pet it! You peek into the station. The voice speaks up: _On the floor inside is a box of pomeraisins._ Haha! Like pomeranians. You love those! You don’t love raisins, though. You always trade them away at snacktime at school.

 

In the corner, there’s a cool-looking monster that kind of looks like a deer. You go up to him.

 

“A dog just rushed in here, filled with inspiration,” he drawls. “It kept trying to build a snowdog that expressed its own emotions… But, as it built, it kept getting more excited about the sculpture… Its neck got longer and longer, and it added more and more snow, until…” He sighs. “It was rather sad to watch, but I couldn’t look away.” You nod sympathetically. You wonder why he didn’t comment on your… being a human or whatever. Maybe he’s too cool for that.

 

As you look around at all the failed inspiration in the field, you feel that familiar swelling in your chest.

 

_Knowing that dog will never give up trying to make the perfect snowdog… It fills you with determination._


	9. Snowdin Part 4: Even More Puzzles and Dogs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the late update. I got Stardew Valley.

Ooooh. The next room looks hard, but fun. It’s an X’s and O’s puzzle… on ice! On ice always seems to make things cooler. The voice snorts. Hey, you didn’t even mean that as a pun! You appreciate the thought, though.

 

Hmmm… if it’s the same as earlier, you won’t be able to stop once you start sliding. The X’s aren’t covered in ice, though, so you can stop there. You’ll have to think of the perfect pattern. First, however, you have to check out the bottom area. You travel down the slope and see two snow sculptures. Well… more like sculpture, singular. One is a lovely snow Papyrus. The other is a lump of snow with “Sans” written on it in red marker. That’s... very telling.

 

You go back up to the puzzle area. Hmmm… you look at it for a while, and you think you have it. You slide onto the board. Start out at the bottom and slide to the closest button. Then the other button on the bottom. Then up to the top… then left… down one… right… right again… down… left… up… right… up… yes! That’s all of them, and you can slide straight to the button.

 

Yessss!! You’re the puzzle master! That was the toughest one yet! Aw, too bad Papyrus isn’t here. He’d be proud of you.

 

A bridge made of ice and snow slide out from the bottom of the puzzle board and lets you slide through a dense section of woods. You come out with a lump of snow on your head, which you shake off.

 

There’s two ways to go: down and forward. You decide to go down; it’s probably not the main path and you don’t want to forget about coming back here later.

 

You travel down and see Sans leaning against a wall of snow. “what’s up?” He asks. You shrug and keep walking along the wall of snow. There are holes in the wall with little sparkling things peering out and winking at you. You wonder if they’re eyes. If they are, that’s probably the creepiest thing you’ve seen since the ruins, and it’s not even that creepy.

 

Sans is barely out of your sight when you run into him again. “are you lost?” He chuckles. You shake your head and are about to go back, but suddenly the ground falls away. You wonder if Sans notices, but you quickly realize that even if he did, he probably wouldn’t do anything. You love him, but it’s the truth.

 

Oh… gosh. This monster is a little creepy. It looks like a deer or a moose or something, but its head looks split down the middle and its eyes are facing different directions. Its antlers are covered in weird stuff. You can make out tinsel pipe cleaners, but you can’t figure out what the rest of it is supposed to be. 

 

This monster also looks pretty upset. Um… Sans? Help?

 

Nah. You can get through this yourself. You don’t need a crutch. ...except maybe the voice, who is currently informing you that  _ Gyftrot confronts you! _

 

You  _ ACT  _ and immediately Check. You want more info about… whatever this is. You can’t really pronounce its name.

 

_ GYFTROT seven ATK three DEF,  _ the voice rattles off.  _ Some teens “decorated” it as a prank.  _ Oh… that sounds really mean. You remember the other older kids at the home. Sometimes they stole your stuff and made fun of your hair. The cool older kids would come and make you feel better, but it still hurt. You feel bad for G… Gyft-trot. It’s hard to pronounce. Wait, is there a second T?

 

Oops! It’s attacking. Tiny snowflakes fall quickly from the top of the screen, and it’s a trick to dodge them.  _ Don’t put any more on me!  _ Gyft… rot moans. Awww. You feel bad. You hope there’s an  _ ACT  _ option to fix it.

 

_ Gyftrot laments its lack of hands.  _ Awwww, that’s even worse! You check  _ ACT  _ and, sure enough, there’s an Undecorate option. You choose it very quickly.

 

_ You remove a childhood picture of Snowdrake and its parent,  _ the voice informs you as you remove what looks to be a photo frame. Oh, that must be the dad it was talking about.  _ That’s a little better,  _ says Gyftrot hopefully. The snow falls again, and again, you have trouble dodging. You don’t get hit, though!

 

_ Gyftrot is slightly less irritated.  _ You choose Undecorate again.  _ You remove the lenticular bookmark of a smug teen winking.  _ Yeah, guess there are mean teens everywhere, even in the Underground.

 

_ That’s a little better,  _ Gyftrot says again, this time with a bit more feeling. You dodge the snow again. You’re definitely getting better at it.

 

The voice tells you, again, that Gyftrot is looking slightly less irritated. By now, you can almost make out the real shape of its antlers. One more should do it. Three always seems to be the magic number with these things.

 

_ You remove the barbed wire made of pipe cleaners.  _ Ouch! Poor Gyftrot. You hope he feels better now.

 

_ A weight has been lifted,  _ Gyftrot sighs in relief. You brace for the snow, but it doesn’t come. Yes! You did it!  _ Gyftrot’s problems have been taken away,  _ the voice says, and you think you can hear it smiling.

 

You Spare.  _ YOU WON! You earned zero EXP and zero gold.  _ ...Aw. Darn. You want some gold.

 

You keep walking, but the only thing on the other side is a black opening. At least, it looks like it should be an opening. You can’t get through it.

 

You go back to the other area, where Sans is waiting, of course. “hey… are you following me?” He winks. You roll your eyes and keep walking, running into him again on your way out. “you sure do like to exercise.” You raise your eyebrows. He shrugs.

 

You go back to the area outside the dense woods and go forward, to the east. You hope you’re almost at Snowdin Town.

 

Oh! This next area has tons of snow poffs and a tiny doghouse. There’s so many snow poffs… hmmm… you feel like there’s a test in here somewhere. You’ll check each one.

 

_ It’s a snow poff,  _ says the voice. You go to the next one. 

 

_ And this… is a snow poff.  _ You giggle and go on. 

 

_ T _ _ his, however, is a snow poff.  _ You giggle harder, almost laughing. The voice is getting a lot funnier the more you go on. 

 

_ Surprisingly, it’s a snow poff.  _ The voice doesn’t seem sarcastic; it actually seems like it’s having fun too. 

 

_ Snow poff…  _ you can sense a faked yawn. 

 

_ Is it really a snow poff?  _ You’re getting close to the end, and you’re near tears. 

 

_ Behold! A snow poff.  _ Haha!! Okay, this is the last one. 

 

_ Eh?  _ You look more closely and see a bundle of gold coins.  _ There’s thirty G inside this… what is this?  _ Ha! They seem as surprised as you. Awesome, gold! That’s a lot, too!

 

You go back and look at the doghouse. What a tiny doghouse! You love it. You read the sign. It says  _ (Woof.)  _ You somehow love it even more.

 

There’s one last snow poff, and it’s blocking the path to the next area. You figure that it may be a little different. You go up to it.

 

You see a tiny white tail emerge from the back of the mass of snow, and you get almost as excited as Lesser Dog. A tiny white head emerges from the front. Awwww!! You’re gonna die of cute! What a fluffy puppy! It barks twice with the squeakiest bark you’ve ever heard. The middle of the snow poff begins to bulge out, and before you can react, a huge suit of armor (taller than Papyrus… woof) emerges, shedding off a bunch of snow. It’s holding a spear. Welp. You’ve almost come to expect this by now.

 

The ground falls away, and suddenly you hear a happy tune playing that sounds like it’s being sung by dogs. A Dogsong!

 

_ It’s the Greater Dog,  _ the voice informs you. Ohhh… now you get why the other was Lesser Dog. That dog was great too, though. But this dog… this is a pretty Great Dog.

 

You  _ ACT.  _ Hmmm, okay, you can Check, Pet, Beckon, Play, and Ignore. Definitely not Ignore. It’s too far away to Pet… how about Beckon?

 

_ You call the Greater Dog.  _ You yell “come!” and pat your knees with your hands.  _ It bounds towards you, flecking slobber into your face.  _ You wipe off your face and smile. You don’t mind. Its attack consists of a puppy lying on its side and throwing “barks” at wherever your heart is. They’re fast, but you can dodge them. 

 

_ Greater Dog is seeking affection,  _ nudges the voice. You pick Pet.

 

_ Greater Dog curls up in your lap as it is pet by you.  _ Ahhh, he’s heavy! It’s okay, though. He is a Dog, and is perfect.  _ It gets so comfortable it falls asleep… Zzzzzz…  _ (the voice is just saying “zzzzz” like Napstablook)...  _ then it wakes up! It’s so excited!  _ Yay! Yes! Dog!

 

It uses the same attack, which you dodge again.

 

_ Greater Dog is patting the ground with its front paws.  _ Oh, that means it wants to Play!

 

_ You make a snowball and throw it for the dog to fetch.  _ The voice pauses as the snowball sails through the air.  _ It splats on the ground. Greater Dog picks up all the snow in the area and brings it to you.  _ Thank you, Greater Dog!  _ Now dog is very tired… it rests its head on you…  _ The voice is taking on a cute inflection about the dog. Looks like it’s time to Pet again.

 

Oops, wait, it still needs to attack. This time it’s a spear (with a dog face) that flashes blue and white. You stop moving when it’s blue, and it passes through you.

 

_ Greater Dog wants some TLC,  _ the voice pushes you. Pet!  _ As you pet the dog, it sinks its entire weight into you…  _ Oof! It’s heavy.  _ Your movements slow. But, you still haven’t pet enough…!  _ You barely manage to dodge the spear.

 

This is your  _ goal _ . You must reach maximum pet! The voice seems to agree with you, saying  _ Pet-capacity is forty-percent.  _ You choose Pet one more time.  _ You pet decisively.  _ You scratch the Dog’s ears as well.  _ Pet capacity reached one hundred-percent. The Dog flops over with its legs hanging in the air.  _ And it’s still attacking, this time with the puppy! Amazing!

 

_ Greater Dog is contented.  _ Whew! What a ride. You Spare.

 

_ YOU WON! You earned zero EXP and forty gold.  _ Nice!

 

The dog hops out of the suit of armor. Oh… wow. It really is a little dog, just in a big suit. Just like the little brother in that show! Only there was nothing inside his suit… You’re pulled out of your thoughts as the puppy licks your face. You ruffle its fur with a grin. Then it hops back into its suit (with its tail end out the head-hole) and marches away. You look back at the doghouse. It must be bigger on the inside.

 

You keep walking and come to a bridge. Wow… what a view. It’s just trees and snow and forest for miles below you. You start walking across the bridge (which is very stable, thankfully) and you’re almost to the end when you notice the skeleton brothers standing at the end. You wave, forgetting that Papyrus is still supposed to be trying to capture you. He waves back anyway.

  
“HUMAN! THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGE!” Uh-oh. Whatever it is, you don’t want to do it on a bridge. You look out at the edge and gulp. Sans catches your eye, but his expression is unreadable. 

 

“BEHOLD! THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!” Um… you  _ definitely  _ don’t want to do that on a bridge. Wait, this is Papyrus. It’s probably going to be something like a dog or spaghetti, right?

 

You are (mostly)  _ very _ incorrect.

 

A huge spiked mace, a red-hot flamethrower, two gigantic spears, and a cannon suddenly line up on either side of the bridge. There’s also a small white dog attached to a string, but you’re too nauseous to be amused. You shoot a terrified glance at Sans, but his eyesockets are still blank. Papyrus… wouldn’t really do this, would he? Maybe he doesn’t even understand the concept of… well, death or dismemberment or serious bodily injury. Either way, you’re suddenly very, very scared again.

 

“WHEN I SAY THE WORD, IT WILL FULLY ACTIVATE!!!” Wait,  _ what?  _ It’s not activated  _ now?  _ “CANNONS WILL FIRE! SPIKES WILL SWING! BLADES WILL SLICE!” You feel dizzy. Sans is looking away. Is this it for you? “EACH PART WILL SWING VIOLENTLY UP AND DOWN!” You’re on the verge of tears. “ONLY THE TINIEST CHANCE OF VICTORY WILL REMAIN!!!” Yeah… pretty sure you got that. “ARE YOU READY?!” Absolutely not. “BECAUSE! I! AM! ABOUT! TO DO IT!”

 

You can’t see very well because you’re shaking so much, but from what you can make out, Papyrus isn’t moving. Finally, Sans catches your eye and gives what appears to be a smile. Are you going to be okay after all?

 

There’s a pause. Nobody does anything. You look at Papyrus, who is loosening the scarf around his neck. His face is sort of twisted up, and you notice he keeps looking down at you.

 

Finally, Sans turns to him. “well? what’s the holdup?” That’s when you know it’s going to be okay. There’s no way Papyrus can do this.

 

“HOLDUP!? WHAT HOLDUP!?” His voice seems to crack. “I’M… I’M ABOUT TO ACTIVATE IT NOW!” But he’s taking lots of very quick breaths and his face is still all hurt-looking. You give him a scared look and his face twists up even more. You feel bad.

 

There’s another pause. All of the weapons are still suspended above your head.

 

“that, uh, doesn’t look very activated.” You understand what Sans is trying to do here, but you  _ kinda  _ wish he would do it when it was  _ his  _ life on the line. Does Sans understand what death is?

 

“WELL!!!” Papyrus bursts out. “THIS CHALLENGE!!!” You raise your eyebrows hopefully. “IT SEEMS… MAYBE… TOO EASY TO DEFEAT THE HUMAN WITH.” Yes! He gets it! Then he furrows his brow-bone. “YEAH! WE CAN’T USE THIS ONE!!! I AM A SKELETON WITH STANDARDS!!!” Ha ha, a  _ skeleton.  _ Not a man with standards, a  _ skeleton  _ with standards. ...maybe you found that more funny than it really was. “MY PUZZLES ARE VERY FAIR!” Hey, true, actually. Fun, too! “AND MY TRAPS ARE EXPERTLY COOKED!” Oh, because he cooked the spaghetti. Ha ha. You wonder if you’re finding everything so funny because of the disintegrating panic. “BUT THIS METHOD IS TOO DIRECT! NO CLASS AT ALL!” He waves his hands in disgust. “AWAY IT GOES!”

 

You breathe a  _ very  _ deep sigh of relief as the weapons (and dog) retract. Sans winks at you, and Papyrus looks almost as relieved as you do.

 

Papyrus turns away for a moment. “WHEW!” He mutters. Awww… he does care!

 

He turns back and must have seen your tiny smile, because he gets all indignant. “WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT!? THIS WAS ANOTHER DECISIVE VICTORY FOR PAPYRUS!! NYEH!! HEH!!” Pause. “HEH???” He speedwalks away.

 

You shakily make your way across the rest of the bridge and turn to Sans. He looks a bit distant.

 

“i don’t know what my brother’s going to do now,” he confesses. It seems like maybe Sans wasn’t expecting the Gauntlet either. “if i were you, i’d make sure i understand  **blue attacks** .” Oh gosh. You’re going to have to fight Papyrus. Well, you could handle Toriel. You can probably handle Papyrus.

 

You keep walking and are almost immediately greeted by a bunch of colorful lights and festivity. Yes! You must have reached the town! You look to your left and see a huge billboard reading “WELCOME TO SNOWDIN.” Ohhh… “Snowdin,” “snowed in.” Clever. You hear the voice giggle. You’re glad they’re as amused as you are.

 

You pass a shop and are about to pass an inn when you feel that swelling in your chest again.

 

_ The sight of such a friendly town fills you with determination. _


	10. Snowdin Part 5: Exploring Snowdin Town!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clearly I'm a student, as you can see by the fall-semester-sized gap in between updates! Luckily I'm also a total loser, so you can expect more updates during my break :)

You decide that you want to visit the shop. This is all actually pretty cool! This is the first real town you’ve been in so far in the Underground, and… well, actually, it’s the first real town you’ve ever been to alone. With your own money. No one telling you what to do or anything… this is awesome! The fights and monsters are cool, sure, but this is a _real_ adventure.

 

You go into the shop. It’s warm and bright and cozy, and the lady… bunny… thing behind the counter reminds you a bit of Toriel. She seems calm and collected, and she’s wearing what looks like a gardening hat. Her fur is a homey lavender.

 

“Hello, traveller. How can I help you?” You peer over the counter. The voice seems to whisper: _Buy, Sell, Talk, or Leave._ You decide to see what you can buy. How much gold do you have? Hmmm… looks like 123. The lady bunny is selling a Tough Glove for 50, a Manly Bandanna (the same one as before?) for 50, a Bisicle for 15, and a Cinnamon Bun for 25. You peer at the Bisicle. It looks like those two-part ice cream pops you used to get from the ice cream truck. You and the other kids would always trade flavors. The description reads: _Heals 11HP times two. Eat it twice!_ That sounds awesome! You point to one and hand over 15G. The shopkeeper pushes the ice cream towards you with a smile. You feel your pockets bulging; you’re going to have to use the box soon.

 

Hmmm, actually, can you sell things here? Usually in video games you can. You push the Nice Cream towards her. She frowns and cocks her head.

 

“Huh? Sell somethin’? Does this look like a pawn shop?” Your cheeks grow hot. You take the Nice Cream back. “I don’t know how it works where you come from… but… if I started spending money on old branches and used bandages, I’d be out of business in a jiffy!” She laughs.

 

It occurs to you that she hasn’t yet commented on your… well… being a human. Then you remember that Papyrus didn’t recognize you as a human either, and Sans had to clarify with you. Does anyone actually know what a human looks like? What do they all think you are?

 

You decide to Talk with the shopkeeper. You clear your throat and she chuckles warmly. “Care to chat?”

 

You say “hello” very quietly. She laughs again. “Hiya! Welcome to Snowdin!” She reaches over the counter and shakes your hand. Her paw is warm and fluffy, like Toriel’s, but a little smaller. It strikes you that most people (monsters?) here seem to be overly kind and welcoming, much more so than on the surface. You can’t remember cashiers at the convenience stores around the home greeting you with anything else but a bland smile.

 

“I can't remember the last time I saw a fresh face around here. Where did you come from? The capital?” You hesitate, then shake your head. “You don't look like a tourist. Are you here by yourself?” You give a very small nod. The lady opens her mouth again, but a weird look comes over her face and she doesn’t say anything.

 

“Do you, uh… want to know what to do here in Snowdin?” You nod eagerly and her sad look goes away. “Well, Grillby's has food, and the library has information… If you're tired, you can take a nap at the inn.” She jerks her head in its direction. “It's right next door—my sister runs it. And if you're bored, you can sit outside and watch those wacky skeletons do their thing.” You giggle. Guess Sans and Papyrus are silly even by monster standards. “There's two of 'em… brothers, I think. They just showed up one day and... asserted themselves.” She sighs with a small grin. “The town has gotten a lot more interesting since then.”

 

You point at her and give a quizzical look, hoping she understands that you want to know about her life. You’re a little tired of talking; you don’t like talking too much anyway, even back home, and you want to keep up your air of mystery. You might accidentally let her know you’re a human, somehow.

 

Luckily, she understands what you’re trying to do. She shrugs. “Oh, me? Well, life is the same as usual.” She pauses, and her smile gets sad again. “A little claustrophobic…” She sighs. “But...we all know deep down that freedom is coming, don't we? As long as we got that hope, we can grit our teeth and face the same struggles, day after day… That's life, ain't it?”

 

You shuffle your feet uncomfortably and nod. You’re glad you’ve set a precedent of being quiet, because you feel as though whatever you say will be the wrong thing.

 

You wave goodbye, and the nice bunny lady smiles. “Bye now! Come again sometime!”

 

You offload some of your things into the box, keeping the Bisicle and the Nice Cream, and try to decide what to do next. The inn is right there, but maybe you should visit later, when you’re tired. You have no idea how long you’re staying here, though. You hope it’s a long time. It looks like Christmas everywhere! There’s even a big tree in the middle of the town, you suddenly notice. Back home, everyone got two presents a year: one at Christmastime and one at your birthday. Last year you got a teddy bear for Christmas and an Etch-a-Sketch for your birthday. The Etch-a-Sketch broke, but you still have the teddy bear, even if it’s a little worn down. You wish you had thought to bring it here.

 

Speaking of which… there’s a bear putting presents under the tree in the middle of town that looks just like your teddy bear! You run up to it, then stop in your tracks and tiptoe over. You don’t want to scare him or weird him out. Actually, you have no idea what to say, if you even choose to say anything. _You look like my teddy bear that’s falling apart that I got from the toy donation box?_ You never believed in Santa; Teacher was honest about where the toys came from so you didn’t feel like Santa loved you less. You would have liked to believe it for a little while, though; you found yourself staying up late on Christmas Eve anyway, waiting for something you knew would never come.

 

You stand timidly behind the bear, who immediately notices you and gives you a kindly smile. He gestures to the presents under the tree. “Awful teens tormented a local monster by decorating its tree-like horns.” Oh, that must have been Gyftrot! You nod sadly. “So we started giving that monster presents to make it feel better. Now it’s tradition to put presents underneath a decorated tree.” You look under the tree. Everything’s so colorful! Some of the presents are addressed from “Santa” to the various locals. Wait… Santa is real down here? Well, everything is magical, so you don’t doubt it! You hop up once, and notice a giggle next to you. You feel your face get hot. You should be acting like a grown-up, not a little kid. You’re on your own now.

 

However, you shouldn’t have worried. The giggle, which you realize sounded more happy than snarky, came not from the grown-up-looking bear, but from a smaller, dinosaur-looking monster. They’re exactly your height and they’re wearing a striped shirt, just like you! Theirs is yellow and orange, which matches their skin. They don’t seem to have any arms, but they’re smiling cheerfully anyway.

 

You smile and wave at them, then get embarrassed because you forgot they can’t wave back. They don’t seem to mind, though. They bound over and give you an enthusiastic nod.

 

“Yo! You’re a kid too, right?” You smile and nod, and you’re surprised by how much relief you feel. Another kid. You haven’t even seen one yet. Papyrus acts kinda like a kid, but he sure doesn’t look like one. This kid looks like you (well, except the whole yellow skin, scales, and no arms part). They’re even wearing a shirt like yours. And they’re being nice to you! ...but you can’t think of a thing to say to them.

 

The Monster Kid smiles wider, showing cute bucked teeth. “I can tell ‘cause you’re wearing a striped shirt.” You laugh and they join you. You’re reminded of some of the younger kids back home, the ones even younger than you, that don’t seem to notice that they don’t have a real home or family yet and are happy all the same. You can’t really remember feeling like that. You feel a pang for Toriel and immediately try to get rid of it by looking back at the Monster Kid. They appear to be deep in thought.

 

“I wonder if that weird skeleton is an adult or a kid,” they say. You nod seriously, as you have been wondering the same thing. A case could be made for either.

 

You wave to the Monster Kid (who nods back) and go on your way. You’re close to Grillby’s, but that kind of looks like a bar, which Teacher told you to stay away from. And it looks like there’s a lot of grown-ups inside. You decide to go to the library instead. You can look up information like a grown-up!

 

To your intense delight, the library sign is misspelled as “LIBRARBY.” You almost laugh out loud, but clap your hand to your mouth to stop from being rude. Who messed that up? This town is so whimsical!

 

You enter the “librarby” and wander over to the front desk. “Welcome to the library,” the lizard-brarian (haha) says. “Yes, we know. The sign is misspelled.” Well, you weren’t going to point it out anyway.

 

The bookshelves are color-coded in rainbow, red at the left, dark green at the right. You start at the red side and pick out a book, a school report about monster funerals. “ _Monster funerals, technically speaking, are cool as heck_ .” You hold in a giggle. It’s quiet in the “librarby.” “ _When monsters get old and kick the bucket, they turn into dust. At funerals, we take that dust and spread it on that person’s favorite thing. Then their essence will live on in that thing... Uhhh, am I at the page minimum yet? I’m kinda sick of writing this_.” You wince. You see the big kids writing papers for school all the time, and you were _not_ looking forward to that. If you could write about whatever you wanted, it could be fun. But it’s always boring stuff like history, or plants, or… funerals, you guess.

 

You pick up a blue book. “ _While monsters are mostly made of magic, human beings are mostly made of water_.” You know human are made of water; you read it in a book once. You’re still not sure how that works. You feel pretty solid, except after you drink too much. “ _Humans, with their physical forms, are far stronger than us. But they will never know the joy of expressing themselves through magic. They’ll never get a bullet-pattern birthday card…_ ” Oh. Um. Okay. A little rude, but you didn’t know human were so strong… is that why Papyrus was so obsessed with capturing you?”

 

The yellow book is next. “ _Here I am… writing this book,_ ” you read. “ _A person comes in and picks up the book… they start reading it…_!” You hear a voice from behind you. It’s a monster that looks like a weird yellow horse with blonde hair (a mane?). “Oh, sorry. I’m still writing that one.” You nod, trying not to look as confused as you feel, and move on.

 

The orange book seems like a continuation of the blue. “ _Because they are made of magic, monsters’ bodies are attuned to their SOUL. If a monster doesn’t want to fight, its defenses will weaken. And the crueler the intentions of our enemies, the more their attacks will hurt us. Therefore, if a being with a powerful SOUL struck with the desire to kill...  Um, let’s end the chapter here…”_ You look around, feeling guilty and kind of scared. The world suddenly seems a lot less magical. Suddenly, you remember what Flowey was talking about… about your SOUL and how it would grow stronger. And how he was making fun of you for not killing anyone. Did he really want you to… you shudder. Wow. _No way._ Well, you’ll show him. No way you’re killing anybody, monster or not. Everyone here seems nice, anyway.

 

You hastily pick up the light green book. “‘ _MONSTER HISTORY PART 4_ .’” Oops. You must have missed something here. Maybe you’ll ask the librarby-an about it. " _Fearing the humans no longer, we moved out of our old city, HOME. We braved harsh cold, damp swampland, and searing heat… Until we reached what we now call our capital.  ‘NEW HOME.’ Again, our King is really bad at names...?_ ” Hmmm… ummm… yeah, you definitely missed something. Monsters were scared of humans? What? Well, you guess that does make sense, based on what you just read about humans being stronger than monsters and having powerful SOULs… well… you can find out about that later. You don’t really want to ask anyone about that.

 

You move on to the last bookshelf, the dark green one. “ _Love, hope, compassion... This is what people say monster SOULs are made of. But the absolute nature of “SOUL” is unknown. After all, humans have proven their SOULs don’t need these things to exist_.” You might have laughed if you didn’t know that the author was serious. Instead, you feel a burning behind your eyes and in your chest. A tear falls onto the book. Is this how everyone thinks of you? What happened here? Why does everyone hate humans? And… why doesn’t anyone know what humans are? Only Toriel seemed completely sure, and Sans had to ask first.

 

You look around at the colorful monsters quietly reading their books. It looks like one of them is working on a crossword. You glance at the librarian, then decide not to ask her anything. You don’t really want to push your luck with not being recognized as a human, and learning about this stuff seems kind of weird, anyway.

 

You push the door open and look out over the town. You’ve got the inn and Grillby’s to go. Grillby’s sort of looks like a grown-up place, and you’re not sure if you want to go in there. You decide to visit the inn and then look around some more.

 

You open the door to the inn, and it looks a little like the lobby to a motel you stayed in when Teacher brought you all on a field trip to the country, but it’s smaller, warmer, and cleaner. The innkeeper, the shopkeeper’s sister, is smiling, and her eyes are scrunched up. Next to her, barely peeking over the counter, is a little rabbit, which much be her kid. You walk up to the lady bunny.

 

“Welcome to Snowed Inn! Snowdin’s premier hotel! One night is 80G.” Your eyes go wide. 80G? That’s almost all your money! You spent 15G on the Bisicle, and you had 123, so that only leaves you with 108G. You sigh and push over your money. The innkeeper gives you a strange look—the same look her sister gave when she realized you were here alone—but her face quickly brightens again. “Here’s your room key. Make sure to bundle up!”

 

You climb the stairs and, feeling very important, open the door to your room. It’s very simple—a bed, a bedside table, a lamp, and a bench—but it’s _yours,_ and you paid for it with your very own money. You can hear your neighbors snoring, but it’s actually quite melodic and comforting. You don’t really want to stay here for the whole night, though, so you’ll just take a “power-nap” like the older kids do before doing their homework.

 

You fall asleep quickly (it’s tiring walking around so much!) and wake up before you even dream of anything. You could say napping is a skill of yours. You hear the voice chuckle, and it both surprises and comforts you. You hadn’t heard from them in a while, and you forgot how much you missed them. But the voice is gone as soon as it appears. You ponder, again, what the voice could be. You haven’t noticed anyone else mention something like it down here, but maybe it’s just so common that people don’t really talk about it.

 

You walk downstairs and place your key on the counter. “Hiya! You look like you had a great sleep.” The innkeeper laughs. “Which is incredible, because you were only up there for about two minutes…” Two minutes? Wow! That’s a new record! You wish there were competitions for speed-napping. The voice giggles again, and you smile.

 

To your surprise, the innkeeper pushes a large pile of money towards you. “Here’s your money back. You can pay me if you’re going to stay overnight.” You look at the money, then back at her. She smiles and nods. You smile back and put the money back in your pocket. People really are nice here!

 

Before you leave, you glance at the bunny-kid. “Mom says that by sleeping at the inn, you can recover above your maximum HP.” You raise your eyebrows, but the kid keeps talking. “...what’s maximum HP?”

 

Well, the bunny-kid might not know that, but you do! Awesome! You don’t think it’ll last, but it might be useful in battle!

 

You walk outside. Doesn’t look like there’s much else to do. Surprisingly, you feel the swelling feeling once again, but don’t question it. Sometimes you can be determined twice by one thing, you guess.

 

_The sight of such a friendly town fills you with determination._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Intentionally skipped Grillby's because we'll come back later with Sans. Also, I know this is a bit short--I was initially going to make this and the Papyrus fight one chapter, but it would have been too long. I hope I'm characterizing Frisk clearly/well enough! Thanks for reading!


	11. Snowdin Part 6: Papyrus Battle!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I condensed some of Papyrus's dialogue--didn't change/omit any lines, but put some sentences together into one battle cycle. Battle cycles are boring to write.

You wander through the town and come to a cozy, happy-looking house covered in Christmas lights. It’s two stories and looks a lot like any normal house you’d see on the surface. There’s even two mailboxes in front of it! One of them is stuffed with what looks like junk mail and magazines, while the other, after an experimental rap on the side, seems to be empty. The empty one is labelled “PAPYRUS.” Of course this is their house! You don’t know what you expected—a bone fortress, maybe? That doesn’t really seem to fit them. The sight of Papyrus’s empty mailbox gives you a little twinge of sadness, though. You think about writing him a letter and slipping it in there, but you don’t have any paper or something to write with. Also, that might be defrauding the mail, which is illegal.

 

After Papyrus and Sans’ house, it doesn’t appear like there’s that much more to be seen in Snowdin. You keep walking a bit out of sight of the town, and suddenly you notice the snowfall picking up. But it’s not a blizzard or anything. It almost seems like individual snowflakes are piling up and pressing all around you, muffling all sound and partially blinding you. All you can see is dim outlines and beautiful geometric snowflakes. Then, you see something else.

 

In front of you is the shadowy outline of a skeleton. A big one. You pause and wait for him to say something funny. But he doesn’t. You feel a strange shudder go through you, and suddenly remember Sans’s advice about  **blue** attacks. Are you… are you going to have to fight Papyrus now?

 

You hear him take a deep breath. “HUMAN.” He doesn’t sound happy or excited. He sounds… quiet. Almost sad. You feel your heart start pounding a little. “ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS.” Uh-ohhh… like what? Having to… capture humans? “FEELINGS LIKE… THE JOY OF FINDING ANOTHER PASTA LOVER.” Wait, that doesn’t sound so bad. Still, his voice sounds shaky and quiet. “THE ADMIRATION FOR ANOTHER'S PUZZLE-SOLVING SKILLS. THE DESIRE TO HAVE A COOL, SMART PERSON THINK YOU ARE COOL. THESE FEELINGS…” He pauses. You wait anxiously.

 

“THEY MUST BE WHAT YOU ARE FEELING RIGHT NOW!!!” Oh… he says that, but doesn’t sound confident at all. Through the pounding of your heart, you feel it break a little. “I CAN HARDLY IMAGINE WHAT IT MUST BE LIKE TO FEEL THAT WAY. AFTER ALL, I AM VERY GREAT. I DON'T EVER WONDER WHAT HAVING LOTS OF FRIENDS IS LIKE.” Crash. Tinkle. That’s your heart breaking into pieces. You hear a noise of disdain from the voice. You wish they were a little more sympathetic. Papyrus is adorable! Even if he’s trying to attack you… 

 

“I PITY YOU... LONELY HUMAN…” You see Papyrus’s head droop a bit. “WORRY NOT!!! YOU SHALL BE LONELY NO LONGER! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE YOUR…” You perk up. What? Is he asking you guys to be friends? You wait eagerly. This pause is longer. Suddenly, Papyrus turns around.

 

“NO... NO, THIS IS ALL WRONG! I CAN'T BE YOUR FRIEND! YOU ARE A HUMAN! I MUST CAPTURE YOU!” Oh, there goes your heart. Both breaking and pounding. “THEN, I CAN FULFILL MY LIFELONG DREAM!!! POWERFUL! POPULAR! PRESTIGIOUS!!! THAT'S PAPYRUS!!! THE NEWEST MEMBER... OF THE ROYAL GUARD!”

 

The ground falls away beneath you. Okay. Okay, this is really happening. You’re really fighting Papyrus. This feels like it might be a little harder than the battles you’ve had so far. Especially since—despite his reluctance—Papyrus is the only monster so for who’s actually trying to beat you. And he might be able to.

 

_ Papyrus blocks the way!  _ The voice announces. You immediately navigate to ACT. Okay, you’ve got Check… but also Insult… and Flirt?? Well, you’re definitely not going to insult him! And… you don’t really have those kinds of feelings toward Papyrus. You don’t want to play with his heart. But… why is that even an option? You hear the faintest of giggles. The voice certainly does have a sense of humor. You decide to Check.

 

_ Papyrus. Eight ATK, two DEF. He likes to say: “Nyeh heh heh!”  _ Well, that he certainly does.

 

You tense up. Okay, time for his attack. But first, it looks like he’s about to say something.

 

“NYEH HEH HEH!”

 

Okay, you should have expected that.

 

You stay on guard, preparing for his attack. You see several bones come toward you from the side of the box, pointing up from the ground. But since you’re suspended in the air higher than they can reach, none of them are able to hit you… this might be an easier battle than you thought.

 

_ Papyrus is rattling his bones,  _ the voice observes. You give a small giggle, then navigate over to MERCY. You’re definitely Sparing him.

 

“SO YOU WON’T FIGHT… THEN, LET’S SEE IF YOU CAN HANDLE MY FABLED ‘BLUE ATTACK!’”

 

You prepare once again. This time, the bones are tall enough to hit you, and they’re coming from the top AND the bottom, but… they’re all light blue. Humoring  Sans, you think of  **blue stop signs** , and don’t move an inch. Sure enough, you don’t take any damage. This turn is almost as easy as the…

 

_ Ping.  _ All of a sudden, you drop to the ground. A bone comes hurtling towards you and smacks you, knocking your wind out. You feel some of your increased HP  decrease. You look down at your heart. It’s dark blue.

 

Oh. 

 

His “blue attack…”

 

Well, this battle might actually be pretty tough after all.

 

Okay. New rules. You attempt to jump, and luckily, you can. It’s a slow jump, almost like you’re in water, and you can go pretty high. But you’re still stuck on the ground for the most part.

 

“YOU’RE BLUE NOW. THAT'S MY ATTACK! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!!”

 

_ You’re blue now.  _ You roll your eyes. Thanks, voice. No duh. You hear them huff a little, but they don’t say anything else. Well, nothing to do but Spare. Luckily, your HP is still extra-high.

 

“BEHOLD!” Papyrus lets loose more tiny bones, which now prove to be a huge problem as you can’t simply hover in the air and avoid them. Luckily, jumping over them isn’t too hard. You’re just not used to it. You experiment with high, low, and running jumps, and before you know it, it’s your turn again.

 

_ Smells like bones,  _ the voice comments. You agree, and Spare again.

 

“YEAH! DON'T MAKE ME USE MY  **SPECIAL ATTACK** !” Oh, great. Even more special than the blue?

 

The bones are taller this time, and you quickly realize that you have to time your jumps perfectly so you won’t get hit. Still, you haven’t been hit a second time… yet.

 

_ Papyrus is trying hard to play it cool,  _ the voice informs you. You smile. Awww, he’s so cute! You feel as though you can hear the voice roll their eyes. You sigh. To each their own, you guess. You Spare.

 

“I CAN ALMOST TASTE MY FUTURE POPULARITY!!!” You wish you could hug Papyrus, but you’re too busy fighting him. Maybe after, if you win. Funnily enough, you aren’t scared of him at all anymore, even though he’s now actively fighting you and trying to capture you as opposed to just being a really tall, scary-looking skeleton. Maybe it’s the fact that you have a close-up view of his goofy face and flamboyant pose… or maybe he’s just too sweet to be scared of.

 

Regardless, he sends out a few more bones. Oop, now some are hanging from the ceiling, too. One manages to catch you because you can’t fall to the ground fast enough. Darn, he’s actually pretty tough!

 

_ Papyrus whispers, “Nyeh heh heh!”  _ You’re enjoying the voice’s commentary for this battle. You hear a smug sound from them. Jeez, what is the voice, anyway? You’re still not sure. Well, no time to ponder that now… Spare.

 

“PAPYRUS: HEAD OF THE ROYAL GUARD! PAPYRUS: UNPARALLELED SPAGETTORE!” Is… is that a word? Also, offhandedly, you wonder what the Royal Guard is. It sounds a lot more serious than what you’ve been through so far.

 

Now he’s adding in some light blue bones, which makes you switch up your strategy a little. Got to remember when to stay still. This time, you get out unscathed.

 

_ Papyrus is preparing a bone attack.  _ He has to prepare those? Do all monsters have to prepare their attacks? Huh. Spare.

 

“UNDYNE WILL BE REALLY PROUD OF ME!! THE KING WILL TRIM A HEDGE IN THE SHAPE OF MY SMILE!!!” That’s right, there’s a king, who’s apparently bad at naming things. You hope he’s nice. You have a feeling you’re going to meet him at some point due to the nature of your adventure. And he was talking about Undyne earlier, wasn’t he? You fleetingly remember something being mentioned about them, whoever they are.

 

Now the bones are coming in stacks that require you to run and jump over them. You barely clear some of them. Weirdly, you feel almost proud of Papyrus. He’s not all talk; he’s actually a pretty good fighter!

 

_ Papyrus prepares a non-bone attack then spends a minute fixing his mistake.  _ You give a full-blown laugh at that one. This battle is the toughest yet, but it’s also the most fun—and fun-ny. Spare.

 

“MY BROTHER WILL ... WELL, HE WON'T CHANGE VERY MUCH.” You have to laugh at that one, and Papyrus smiles sheepishly. “I'LL HAVE LOTS OF ADMIRERS!! BUT…” You see his expression waver. “HOW WILL I KNOW IF PEOPLE SINCERELY LIKE ME?” Oof. That’s actually pretty deep… and true. Well, you sincerely like him, at least…

 

Oops, battle time! The bones are coming from the top and bottom simultaneously, and you have to time your jumps perfectly to fit through the gaps.

 

_ Papyrus is considering his options.  _ You don’t have to consider yours. Spare.

 

“SOMEONE LIKE YOU IS REALLY RARE…” Oh… you’re actually really touched. Papyrus’s face is screwed up with some kind of emotion. “I DON'T THINK THEY'LL LET YOU GO… AFTER YOU'RE CAPTURED AND SENT AWAY.” Whoa, wait?  _ What?  _ Captured and  _ sent away?  _ And they won’t let you go? Who’s “they?” Where’s he sending you? Suddenly, this is serious. You can feel your determination kicking in, and your heart starts pounding faster—but that might just be fear. Maybe not everyone here is as nice as you thought… at least not to humans.

 

Despite Papyrus’s moral quandary, he keeps attacking, and the attacks are getting tougher. Now the gaps between the top and bottom bones are staggered, and you have to time your jumps perfectly. Which you fail to do. A bone hits you right in the chest, and you feel your HP dip down to its normal amount. Well, you’re still doing pretty well so far.

 

_ Papyrus remembered a bad joke Sans told and is frowning.  _ You would have appreciated that joke. The voice makes a noise of agreement. Spare.

 

“URGH... WHO CARES! GIVE UP!! GIVE UP OR FACE MY...  **SPECIAL ATTACK** !!!” Papyrus stamps his foot on the ground and you’re accosted with a wave of bones. Jeez, if this is his normal attack, what’s his special one? You’re not sure you want to know.

 

_ Papyrus is cackling.  _ Clearly, he’s excited about getting to use his attack. Well, if you had one, you would be too. Spare.

 

“YEAH!!! VERY SOON I WILL USE MY  **SPECIAL ATTACK** !” Hmmm… is it just you, or does he seem a little reluctant? Well, hopefully it’ll end the battle, anyway. Dodging the bones is getting pretty tiring, although you manage to avoid all of them this turn.

 

_ Papyrus is rattling his bones…  _ Yeah, yeah, same old, same old. The voice huffs, and you smile apologetically. Must be hard to make so many observations in a long battle. You hear them make a noise of agreement. Spare.

 

“NOT TOO LONG AND I WILL USE THAT  **SPECIAL ATTACK** !!!” Jeez, Papyrus, just get on with it! At least the bone attacks aren’t getting much harder.

 

_ Papyrus is preparing a bone attack.  _ Yep, you grumble internally, he sure is. The voice sighs. Spare.

 

“THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE... BEFORE MY  **SPECIAL ATTACK** !!” You roll your eyes back into your head.  _ Ughhhhh,  _ you’re dying of anticipation at this point. He better not be lying.

 

_ Papyrus whispers “Nyeh heh heh!”  _ You Spare almost dejectedly.

 

“BEHOLD...! MY  **SPECIAL ATTACK** !” Suddenly, the box widens. Whoa, his special attack needs a bigger box? That’s awesome! Wait… all you see is a little white dog chewing on a bone! … uh oh.

 

“WHAT THE HECK! THAT'S MY SPECIAL ATTACK!” You clap your hands to your mouth, but feel like you’re about to explode. The situation is already ridiculous, and the way he said it was just so hilariously indignant! Oh, gosh… your stomach hurts. “HEY! YOU STUPID DOG! DO YOU HEAR ME!? STOP MUNCHING ON THAT BONE!!!” You hear a belly laugh from the voice, and that does it—you fall to the floor in laughter, almost in tears. You barely notice the dog inching out of the frame along with the bone. “HEY!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!! COME BACK HERE WITH MY SPECIAL ATTACK!!!” You gasp for breath, let out a few last giggles, and turn to face Papyrus, who looks disappointed (but luckily not angry at your laughing fit). “...OH WELL. I'LL JUST USE A REALLY COOL REGULAR ATTACK.”

 

_ Papyrus is getting ready for a regular attack. _ The voice sounds the tiniest bit dejected, and honestly, you are too. You kind of wanted to see his special attack… oh well. Spare.

 

Papyrus sighs excessively deeply. “HERE'S AN ABSOLUTELY NORMAL ATTACK.”

 

The attack starts off pretty normal. Two small bones, two big bones… then criss-crossing bones… then criss-crossing, size-changing bones… then stacked size-changing bones… then… the dog??... then the words “COOL DUDE” made completely out of bones… then a bone riding a skateboard?... then… oh gosh… a  _ forest  _ of bones that looks like it goes on forever! You take a leap of faith—and somehow, you just keep going higher and further! The box even expands with you. At the end of the forest, there’s a HUGE bone that you barely clear. You’re just catching your breath when you see a tiny bone moving towards you exceedingly slowly. You run up to it, clear it, and continue catching your breath. Wow. Um… you’ll take that in lieu of a special attack.

 

Papyrus bends over and puts his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. You understand. That looked pretty tiring. “WELL...! 'HUFF' IT'S CLEAR... YOU CAN'T! 'HUFF' DEFEAT ME!!!” Um… how’s that, now? “YEAH!!! I CAN SEE YOU SHAKING IN YOUR BOOTS!!!” You look down. Your boots are stable, as are you. You smirk at Papyrus and hear the voice giggle. “THEREFORE I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, ELECT TO GRANT YOU PITY!! I WILL  **SPARE** YOU, HUMAN!!! NOW'S YOUR CHANCE TO ACCEPT MY  **MERCY** .” Awww, yeah! You did it! And you never even had to Fight once!

 

_ Papyrus is sparing you.  _ Finally. You Spare as well, and you feel the ground rise back up. Although, since you were on the ground the whole battle, it’s not as jarring. The snow blocking your vision is all gone, and you notice that Papyrus is facing away from you. His shoulders are hunched, and he’s staring at the ground.

 

“NYOO HOO HOO… I CAN’T EVEN STOP SOMEONE AS WEAK AS YOU…” Ordinarily you’d be offended, but he  _ was  _ pretty powerful, and you didn’t really ever expect to have to battle a huge skeleton, let alone win. You feel bad. “UNDYNE’S GOING TO BE DISAPPOINTED IN ME.” Maybe Undyne is his boss? That would make sense. “I’LL NEVER JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD… AND… MY FRIEND QUANTITY WILL REMAIN STAGNANT!”

 

You pause. What should you say? The voice responds to your unspoken question: “ _ Let’s be friends” or “What a loser.”  _ You scowl at the voice and walk up to Papyrus. You tug on the end of his flowing scarf, and he looks down at you with a downturned mouth and his eyebrows (or brow-bone) raised. It strikes you again that he’s very, very tall—you only barely come up to his waist—but any fear you had of him is completely gone at this point.

 

Actually, since he’s so tall, you’ll need him to bend down to hear you. Teacher is always telling you to speak up, but you don’t like to talk loud. You don’t even really like to talk. But you’ll talk to Papyrus. A little, at least. You beckon him with your hand, and he bends down immediately. Very quietly, you whisper, “Let’s be friends.”

 

Papyrus’s eyesockets widen, and for a minute he’s speechless. Then, his mouth widens and he shows you an even bigger grin than normal.

 

“REALLY?!! YOU WANT TO BE FRIENDS, WITH ME???” You nod and smile widely. He puts his hand on his breastplate. “WELL THEN… I GUESS… I GUESS I CAN MAKE AN ALLOWANCE FOR YOU!” Oh yeah, that’s right! He was supposed to capture you… you hope you didn’t put him in an awkward position. Oh well, he doesn’t seem to mind. “WOWIE!! I HAVE FRIENDS!!” He claps his hands, and you mimic him, which makes him laugh. It’s a little cackle-y, but seems a lot warmer and happier than his usual laugh. “WHO KNEW ALL I NEEDED TO MAKE PALS… WAS TO GIVE PEOPLE AWFUL PUZZLES AND THEN FIGHT THEM??” You laugh, and he smiles even wider (which is possible, apparently). 

 

“YOU TAUGHT ME A LOT, HUMAN. I HEREBY GRANT YOU PERMISSION TO PASS THROUGH!” He gestures beyond the town, into what looks like a mountain. “AND I’LL GIVE YOU DIRECTIONS TO THE SURFACE.” Your eyes light up. Does he really know how to get back? He says he does, but you aren’t really that sure… “CONTINUE FORWARD UNTIL YOU REACH THE END OF THE CAVERN. THEN, WHEN YOU REACH THE CAPITAL, CROSS  **THE BARRIER** . THAT’S THE MAGICAL SEAT TRAPPING US ALL UNDERGROUND.” Wait, what? Were you supposed to know that? Are  _ you  _ trapped? “ANYTHING CAN ENTER THROUGH IT, BUT NOTHING CAN EXIT…” Your heart sinks. “...EXCEPT SOMEONE WITH A POWERFUL SOUL.” Yes! Humans have powerful souls! You’ll be fine! “...LIKE YOU!!!” Papyrus confirms, ruffling your hair. You get a warm feeling in your chest when he does. “THAT’S WHY THE KING WANTS TO ACQUIRE A HUMAN. HE WANTS TO OPEN THE BARRIER WITH SOUL POWER. THEN US MONSTERS CAN RETURN TO THE SURFACE!”

 

Oh! Well, that doesn’t seem too bad at all! Why didn’t he just say so? You’d definitely help the king open the barrier if you could. In fact, you think you’ll try to help them do that before you leave. There’s no real reason for the monsters to be trapped, is there? You hear something—you can’t tell what, exactly, it’s just a small noise—from the voice. Are they encouraging you?  

 

As you’re thinking, Papyrus interrupts your train of thought. His expression looks more serious now. “OH, I ALMOST FORGOT TO TELL YOU… TO REACH THE EXIT, YOU WILL HAVE TO PASS… THROUGH  **THE KING** ’S CASTLE.” Uhhh ohhh. Is the king… a good guy? What did he mean by “soul power?” He couldn’t mean… “ **THE KING OF ALL MONSTERS… HE IS… WELL…** ” You hold your breath and prepare to clutch at Papyrus’s leg, thinking of the voice’s odd reaction to your plan. Suddenly, he grins at you and winks. “HE’S A BIG FUZZY PUSHOVER!” Your stomach unclenches and you laugh. “EVERYBODY LOVES THAT GUY.” Yay, a benevolent monarch! It’s always hit-or-miss with them. “I AM CERTAIN IF YOU JUST SAY... 'EXCUSE ME, MR. DREEMURR... CAN I PLEASE GO HOME?' HE'LL GUIDE YOU RIGHT TO THE BARRIER HIMSELF!” 

 

Okay, great! King Dreemurr, who is a nice king that will let you go home if you just ask politely. You wonder if he can help you say goodbye to Toriel. If they’re both fuzzy pushovers, they might get along great! The voice makes another noise, and you give a slight frown. What’s up with them?

 

Before you can think about it more, Papyrus continues speaking. “ANYWAY!!! THAT’S ENOUGH TALKING!!!” He says ironically. “I’LL BE AT HOME BEING A COOL FRIEND!! FEEL FREE TO COME BY AND HANG OUT!! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!!” He skips away through the air. Honestly, at this point, you’re not even fazed. Your chest still feels warm from where he tousled your hair, and as you follow him back into the town (you’re not going on without hanging out with him), the warmth grows into a swelling.

 

_ The sight of such a friendly town fills you with determination. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes you can be determined multiple times by one thing, and sometimes you have to split up chapters to make things work.


	12. Snowdin Part 7: Hanging out with Papyrus!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, I have no excuse other than that I'm a college student about to graduate and I've been playing a lot of Stardew Valley. Hope y'all enjoy anyway!

You walk back into the town, feeling a lot better about pretty much everything. You know how to leave and you’re friends with Papyrus, who actually does seem pretty cool in your opinion. You think the older kids would think it was pretty cool if you were friends with a seven-foot-tall skeleton. Papyrus is standing by his house with his characteristic grin, although it does seem a little wider than usual. You guess he’s excited to hang out, and you’re excited too! Little kids play. Older kids hang out. This is so cool! Plus, you’re hanging out with a huge skeleton! You wonder what you’re going to be doing.

 

“SO YOU CAME BACK TO SEE ME!” Papyrus greets you. Then he gives you a side-eye. “YOU MUST BE REALLY SERIOUS ABOUT THIS…” You frown. Well, of course you are! “I’LL HAVE TO TAKE YOU SOMEPLACE REALLY SPECIAL… A PLACE I LIKE TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME!!!” You wonder if he’s talking about Grillby’s. That seems like a cool grown-up place to spend time, and if you’re with Papyrus, you guess it’ll be okay for you to go in. Sure enough, he takes you on a speed-walk through town, heading straight to Grillby’s. But before you even get there, he abruptly makes a U-turn and starts heading back the way he came. You follow him. It’s a little hard to keep up.

 

You make it back to where you started—the front of his house. Papyrus stands before the door. “MY HOUSE!!!” He announces. He dashes inside. You blink a few times, then giggle. You hear the voice join you, although their tone is a bit derisive. You frown, and they quiet down, but you can still hear some titters. You follow Papyrus inside.

 

Gosh, what a cool place! You’re in the living room, and there’s also a kitchen and two rooms upstairs. This is the kind of house you’ve always wanted to live in! It looks so cool, like older kids really do live here. To your right is a table. The kitchen, with a fridge, stove, counter, trash can, and what looks like an absurdly oversized sink (even for Papyrus’s height), is in front of you. To your left is a mossy green couch and a big flat-screen T.V. (You hope you can watch something on it! The T.V. at the home still has a V.C.R. slot.) The two doors upstairs are clearly the brothers’ rooms—Papyrus’s room is covered with fake “CAUTION” tape and a stop sign (a red one), while Sans’ door is blank, but has mysteriously colored lights emanating from the bottom. Very telling. 

 

You walk up to Papyrus and wave to him. “WELCOME TO SCENIC MY HOUSE!” He announces. You smile. “ENJOY AND TAKE YOUR TIME!!!”

 

Next to Papyrus is a little side table with a book on it. Oh, it’s a joke book! You take a look inside. Oh, wow… there’s a book inside it called “ _ Quantum Physics: The Fifth Level. _ ” You’re guessing that’s Sans’s. You open it, just to see if you can make sense of anything… oh. There’s another joke book inside it. Well, that’s interesting. You look inside the second joke book, and there’s a book titled “ _ Quantum Physics: The Sixth Level. _ ” Okay. You’ve seen enough bad science fiction movies on generic cable to see where this is going. You decide to stop.

 

You walk back to the front of the room and examine the plate on the table. “THIS IS MY BROTHER’S PET ROCK,” Papyrus explains. “HE ALWAYS FORGETS TO FEED IT. AS USUAL, I HAVE TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY.” The rock is covered in sprinkles. You smirk at Papyrus and hear the voice sigh. You… can’t really blame them.

 

Next to the T.V. is a dirty sock covered with a series of notes. You’re intrigued. You read the bottom-most note, which seems to be the first in the series. It’s in Papyrus’s handwriting. 

 

“SANS! PLEASE PICK UP YOUR SOCK!”

 

The second one is in small, rounded letters. It appears to be Sans’ response. “ok.”

 

They alternate. “DON’T PUT IT BACK DOWN! MOVE IT!”

 

“ok.”

 

“YOU MOVED IT TWO INCHES! MOVE IT TO YOUR ROOM!”

 

“ok.”

 

“AND DON’T BRING IT BACK!”

 

“ok.”

 

“IT’S STILL HERE!”

 

“didn’t you just say not to bring it back to my room?” You can almost hear Sans winking through the note. 

 

“FORGET IT!”

 

The voice giggles. You think they’d get along pretty well with Sans… if they were real. You pause to see if they’ll react to that. Nothing.

 

You shrug off the weird feeling that gives you and decide to turn on the T.V. It looks like the kind that always gets advertised in commercials. Toriel’s house didn’t have a T.V., so you’re a bit surprised to see one here. Monsters seem to have a lot of technology that humans have. Did they develop it themselves? What’s this T.V. like?

 

It pops to life just like the one at the home. The quality is a lot better, though, even if it’s just showing a test pattern.

 

“OOH, IT’S MY FAVORITE GAME-SHOW!” Papyrus says excitedly. You raise your eyebrows. The test pattern reads “ _ STAY TUNED FOR A NEW PROGRAM—MTT. _ ” You look back at Papyrus. “WHAT!!! IT’S USUALLY BETTER THAN THIS! THIS IS JUST A BAD EPISODE!!! DON’T JUDGE ME!!!” You almost laugh, but then stop yourself and nod. Once you tried to show another kid at the orphanage one of your favorite shows, but it was a weird episode that took place in the past and didn’t make sense. They never watched with you again. You’ll definitely watch a show with Papyrus, though!

 

Next, you plop down on the couch. The material is thin and really saggy, but it’s comfy. You’re going to have a hard time getting up. You try to push yourself up and it makes a jangling sound where you touch the cushion. Oops, did you break something? You shove the cushion aside. Whoa… there’s a bunch of loose coins inside the couch! You take them and count 20G. Awesome! You’re sure Papyrus won’t mind.

 

Speaking of which… are you hanging out, really? It’s mostly just been you poking around. Well, maybe you’ll have to go to his room.

 

You head upstairs and walk up to his door. 

 

“THAT’S MY ROOM!” Papyrus calls out from downstairs. “IF YOU’VE FINISHED LOOKING AROUND… WE COULD GO IN AND…” He hesitates, speaking slowly. “‘HANG-OUT’ LIKE A PAIR OF VERY COOL FRIENDS?”

 

You nod vigorously. Papyrus is the coolest person you’ve ever met… you think. Cool people are super funny and everyone wants to be friends with them, right? Then Papyrus is super cool! And… lots of people want to hang out with you, too! ...down here, at least. You didn’t “hang out” with many kids back home. Or play, even. Well, whatever. You and Papyrus are cool friends and that’s all that matters.

 

Papyrus bounds up the stairs and ushers you into his room before zipping in front of you and standing in the middle of the rug. Wow… his room is totally awesome!! Like… absolutely the coolest thing you’ve ever seen!! There’s so much coolness bombarding your vision that you can’t decide where to look first. No wonder Papyrus is so happy all the time! You would be too if your room looked like this!!

 

For starters, it’s HUGE. Not even Nurse’s office is this big, and that has six beds in it! And there’s another door across from you, which must mean he has a big walk-in closet like rich kids on T.V. Wow… well, you’ll start with what’s closest. To your right is a large cardboard box filled with bones. 

 

“HEY, THOSE ARE ALL THE ATTACKS I USED ON YOU,” Papyrus says. “GREAT MEMORIES, HUH? SEEMS LIKE IT WAS ONLY YESTERDAY…” You’re about to raise your finger when Papyrus voices your thought for you. “EVEN THOUGH IT BASICALLY JUST HAPPENED.” He glances sideways. Well… okay. So, attacks can be kept like this? You examine the bones. They seemed a whole lot bigger earlier. Maybe it’s because they were only the same size as your heart?

 

To your left is an awesome bed shaped like a bright red racecar. You’re not even into racecars that much, and you think it’s cool! Everybody has the same kind of bed at the home—just plain old bunk beds. You have the bottom bunk, which is better for if you have to go to the bathroom, but you’d really like your very own. 

 

“THAT’S MY BED!” Papyrus says proudly. Then he looks dreamy. “IF I EVER GET TO THE SURFACE… I’D LIKE TO DRIVE DOWN A LONG HIGHWAY.” You’re about to laugh at the idea of a skeleton driving down a highway in a convertible racecar, but Papyrus’s expression stops you. He looks… almost sad. More like… wistful, or something. “WIND IN MY HAIR… SUN ON MY SKIN...” It’s getting harder not to giggle, especially since the voice is. What’s their problem? He looks like he really wants this. And those are, like… figures of speech to him, you guess. Then he sighs. “OF COURSE, THAT’S JUST A DREAM. SO INSTEAD I CRUISE WHILE I SNOOZE.” Points for the rhyme, but something about all that makes you really sad. Even Papyrus, the most idealistic, imaginative person/skeleton you’ve ever met, thinks that getting to the surface is a dream? And that’s such a simple thing to want, too. You love going on car and bus rides, especially with the windows open. 

 

Still thinking, you wander over to a table covered in action figures. You don’t have any of your own—all the kids share a big box. Everyone’s favorite was Tahu, the red Bionicle. Nobody ever got Bionicles for Christmas or their birthday, though, because it wouldn’t be fair to everyone else. You almost never got to play with Tahu, but you preferred Onua, the black one, anyway.

 

“AH, YES, ACTION FIGURES. A GREAT REFERENCE FOR THEORETICAL BATTLE SCENARIOS.” You scrunch up your forehead, but then realize that that’s exactly what you guys did with the Bionicles—make them fight each other like they wouldn’t on the show. You try to count how many Papyrus has and you can’t. Lucky. “HOW DO I HAVE SO MANY? WELL, LET’S JUST SAY THEY’RE FROM… A CHUBBY, SMILING MAN WHO LOVES TO SURPRISE PEOPLE.” Your eyes light up. “YEAH!! THAT’S RIGHT! SANTA!!!!” Wow!! Santa must be real down here,  _ and  _ he gives out action figures! Maybe if you stay here long enough, you’ll get your own Onua figure!

 

You turn to your right and are pretty shocked to see an enormous, beat-up pirate flag hung up on the wall. The old skull and crossbones! You guess Papyrus doesn’t find that offensive. Maybe he thinks it’s cool! 

 

“ISN’T THAT FLAG NEATO?” Papyrus confirms. “UNDYNE FOUND IT AT THE BAY… I THINK IT’S FROM THE HUMAN WORLD?” You don’t really know what to say. How do you explain that flag to Papyrus? Does he understand the, um, connotations of skeletons in your world? “NOW, I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE THINKING.” Does he? You’re not even entirely sure what you’re thinking. “WHY WOULD A HUMAN FLAG… HAVE A COOL SKELETON ON IT?” Um… “WELL… I HAVE A THEORY.” He doesn’t seem upset. You’re curious to see what he thinks. “I THINK HUMANS… MUST HAVE DESCENDED FROM SKELETONS!! NYEH HEH HEH!!” Hm… well, he’s almost there. Maybe it’s best not to comment.

 

You pass over the closet—that seems a little private and/or boring—and come to his bookshelf. You see two especially well-worn volumes:  _ Advanced Puzzle Construction for Critical Minds  _ and  _ Peek-A-Boo With Fluffy Bunny _ . Gosh, Papyrus really does seem like a mix between a grown-up and a kid. Being friends with him will be great! You can get into grown-up places but still talk about cool kid stuff.

 

Wow, he even has a computer! It looks a lot like the one you have in the library at the home, but a little older. You love playing on the computer. You aren’t allowed to go on the Internet without a grown-up in the room, but when you’re allowed, you play a bunch of fun games on it. You have to share with all the other kids—everyone has to sign up and you get a half hour each—but some of the older kids have their own little computers. Papyrus has his own big computer! You move the mouse around, but can’t decipher any of the icons on the screen. Must be monster language.

 

“THE INTERNET! I’M QUITE POPULAR THERE.” Wow, awesome! Would you be able to find him on your internet back home? Do humans and monsters have the same internet? Maybe only big kids can go on the sites Papyrus is on. “I’M JUST A DOZEN FOLLOWERS AWAY… FROM A DOUBLE DIGIT FOLLOWER COUNT!” Um… you aren’t very good at math, but that doesn’t sound like it makes sense. Papyrus narrows his eyesockets. “OF COURSE, FAME HAS A STEEP PRICE. A JEALOUS TROLL HAS BESIEGED MY ONLINE PERSONA.” Oh no! What kind of jerk would be mean to Papyrus? Then he continues: “ALWAYS SENDING ME BAD PUNS IN A GOOFY FONT…” You manage to turn away before Papyrus sees your smile. You wish Sans would troll you. You love puns!

 

It looks like that’s all there is to see. You walk back over to Papyrus and smile at him. He gets a bit flustered. “SO, UM, IF YOU’VE SEEN EVERYTHING… DO YOU WANT TO START HANGING OUT?” You nod vigorously. “OKAY!! LET’S HANG TEN!!”

 

To your surprise, the ground falls away as though you’re beginning a battle, but you don’t feel the same sense of urgency you usually feel. You’re pretty sure human hangouts don’t work like this, but this seems interesting, so you’re willing to learn. On cue, you hear the voice, which sounds a lot more cheerful than normal:  _ HANGOUT START! _

 

Papyrus is standing in front of you with a big smile. “HERE WE ARE!! HANGING OUT!!” He declares. Um… you’re not really sure what you’re supposed to do. Is “hanging out” just a battle without the fighting? And talking instead? Actually, that’s most of your battles…. Papyrus looks away. “I’VE ACTUALLY NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE…” Oh, okay, so you’re both learning! Phew. You feel like you’ve been in the dark a lot over the course of your adventure. It feels nice to be just as clueless as someone else. “BUT DON’T WORRY!!!” He continues. “YOU CAN’T SPELL ‘PREPARED’ WITHOUT SEVERAL LETTERS FROM MY NAME!!” You’re musing on the sense of that statement when he whips out a book from his… pocket? “I SNAGGED AN OFFICIAL HANGOUT GUIDE FROM THE LIBRARY!! WE’RE READY TO HAVE A GREAT TIME!!” Wow, they make those? Also, you hope he checked it out properly. 

 

Papyrus starts surveying the book. “LET’S SEE… STEP ONE… PRESS THE [C] KEY FOR FRIENDSHIP HUD.” Um… uh-oh. You don’t see a “C” key. Is this meant for computer hangouts or something? You know the older kids do something like that. You look at Papyrus helplessly and you stare at each other for a minute. “OKAY, FORGET IT,” he dismisses. “I THINK WE’RE READY FOR STEP TWO!!!” Phew. You hope you didn’t mess up the hangout too much. “STEP TWO… ASK THEM TO HANG OUT!” Haha! Haven’t you already done this step? This guide seems a little slow. Papyrus goes along with it anyway. “AHEM! HUMAN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS… WILL HANG OUT WITH YOU!” You’re not exactly sure that’s how you “ask” someone something. It also occurs to you that when asking someone to hang out, you should know their name first. Well, you still don’t feel like talking, and it’s not like there are any other humans around anyway. Two options appear: YES and NO. You pretend to think for a minute, then navigate to YES. 

 

Papyrus’s eyesockets go all shiny and his cheeks turn pink. “R-REALLY??? WOWIE!!!” You jump (float?)and clap your hands. Papyrus is so cute! “I GUESS THAT MEANS IT’S TIME FOR PART THREE!!! STEP THREE… PUT ON NICE CLOTHES TO SHOW YOU CARE!” Uh-oh. You don’t have anything besides what you’re wearing, and they definitely aren’t your nicest clothes. You have some fancy clothes back home for special occasions, but they’re all really uncomfortable. What you’re wearing right now is probably your favorite outfit, though. Maybe that counts? 

 

Papyrus has been quiet. “WAIT A MINUTE… ‘WEAR CLOTHING’... THAT RIBBON IN YOUR HAIR… YOU’RE WEARING CLOTHING RIGHT NOW!” Oh! That’s right! You forgot about the ribbon. That’s definitely fancy. Some kids wear ribbons for special occasions. Is… is he mad at you for that? That seems out of character for him. He narrows his eyesockets. “NOT ONLY THAT… EARLIER TODAY, YOU WERE ALSO WEARING CLOTHING!” His face scrunches and his cheeks turn pink, somehow, again. “NO… COULD IT BE… YOU’VE WANTED TO HANG OUT WITH ME FROM THE VERY BEGINNING??!”

 

Well, at least he’s not mad! You think about it. Well, you have thought Papyrus was cool from the beginning, even when you were a little scared of him. Gosh, you can’t imagine being scared of him now. You guess you have wanted to hang out with him for a while! You navigate to YES again. 

 

Papyrus goes bug-eyed. Wait, he has eyes? “NO!! YOU PLANNED IT ALL!!! YOU’RE WAY BETTER AT HANGING OUT THAN I AM!!!” Aw, Papyrus! You don’t want him to feel bad! “N-NOOOOO!!! YOUR  **FRIENDSHIP POWER** !!!” A meter labeled “FRIENDSHIP” appears above him and fills up slightly. Wow, so hanging out  _ is  _ kind of like a battle. “NYEH! NYEH HEH HEH!” Papyrus smiles confidently. “DON’T THINK YOU’VE BESTED ME YET!! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE NEVER BEEN BEATEN AT HANGING OUT, AND I NEVER WILL!! I CAN EASILY KEEP UP WITH YOU!! YOU SEE, I, TOO, CAN WEAR CLOTHING!!” You’re unable to stop a laugh, but Papyrus doesn’t seem to notice, or at least he isn’t offended. “IN FACT… I ALWAYS WEAR MY ‘SPECIAL’ CLOTHES UNDERNEATH MY REGULAR CLOTHES!! JUST IN CASE SOMEONE WANTS TO HANG OUT!!” Jeez, this guy is hardcore! You don’t have anything on under your clothes. Well, except your underwear. Is Papyrus going to wear his underwear? Haha, that rhymes. 

 

“BEHOLD!!!” Papyrus rushes away, then rushes back wearing a super-cool outfit that looks vaguely like what the older kids wear all the time. He’s wearing a backwards baseball cap, sneakers with high socks, shorts, basketballs on his shoulders, and a tank-top that says “COOL DUDE.” Seems like a theme with him. “NYEH! WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MY SECRET STYLE!?!” You have two options: “I love it” and “I hate it.” Gosh, who would say they hated it? You choose the obvious correct answer. 

 

His eyes(?) bug out again. “NO!!! A GENUINE COMPLIMENT…!!!” The “FRIENDSHIP” meter fills up even more. You think Papyrus might be taking this a bit too seriously. This seems like a very militant way of getting to know someone. Well, maybe this is what monsters do. “HOWEVER… YOU DON’T TRULY UNDERSTAND THE  **HIDDEN POWER** OF THIS OUTFIT!! THEREFORE… WHAT YOU JUST SAID IS INVALID!!” The meter goes down. Um… you’re not sure that makes sense either. You don’t want to accidentally offend him… “THIS HANG-OUT WON’T ESCALATE ANY FURTHER!” Aw man, what? “...UNLESS YOU FIND  **MY SECRET** !!! BUT THAT WON’T HAPPEN!” Ah, ok, a challenge! You’re able to navigate your heart around now. 

 

You check his shoes. “HUMAN SOULS ARE STRONGER THAN MONSTER SOULS… BUT THE SOLES OF OUR SHOES ON THE OTHER HAND… ARE ABOUT THE SAME.” Ok, funny and true, but a dead end. You try his hand, and his cheeks go pink. “HOLDING MY HAND SO I’LL TELL YOU THE ANSWER… NO!!! I MUST RESIST!!!” You giggle, wishing you could actually hold his hand. You will once you’re out of the battlefield (hangout-field?). 

 

You try his hat. “MY HAT…?” His eyesockets narrow. “MY HAT. MY HAT! NYEH HEH HEH!” The hat slowly lifts up to reveal a wrapped present. Ok, you thought you weren’t going to be surprised by anything anymore, but this is testing you. “W-WELL THEN… YOU FOUND MY SECRET!” Aww, he sounds so bashful! “I SUPPOSE I HAVE NO CHOICE. IT’S A PRESENT… J-JUST FOR YOU!” Your eyes widen. You probably should have expected this from Papyrus, but you’re still surprised. A present! You almost never get presents, and never from anyone directly! You have the choices to “OPEN IT” and “DON’T.” You open it.

 

It’s… a plate of spaghetti? Hm. Not something you would have expected to be wrapped. “DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS?” You nod, bypassing your choices. You hope it didn’t mess anything up. 

 

“‘SPAGHETTI,’” Papyrus says. “THAT’S WHAT YOU’RE THINKING, ISN’T IT? RIGHT! BUT OH-SO WRONG!” It’s gotta be some kind of “special” spaghetti. You prepare yourself for… whatever’s coming. “THIS AIN’T ANY PLAIN OL’ PASTA!” He sounds like he’s trying to sound like a movie character. “THIS IS AN ARTISAN’S WORK! SILKEN SPAGHETTI, FINELY AGED IN AN OAKEN CASK… THEN COOKED BY ME, MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS!” Um, why would you age spaghetti? You’re getting a little worried about your “present.” “HUMAN!!! IT’S TIME TO END THIS! THERE’S NO WAY THIS CAN GO ANY FURTHER!” It  _ is  _ getting pretty ridiculous. You have two new choices: “EAT IT” and “REFUSE.” Well… you have to be polite.

 

Papyrus hands you the plate and you take a tiny bite. Whoof! You can’t stop your face from scrunching up. You can’t describe the taste, but whatever it is, it doesn’t taste like any spaghetti  _ you’ve  _ ever had. You’re not sure what to make of this…

 

“WHAT A PASSIONATE EXPRESSION!!!” Well, that’s certainly one way to put it. “YOU MUST REALLY LOVE MY COOKING! AND BY EXTENSION, ME!” That part’s certainly true! You can’t help yourself from smiling. His eyes bug out. “MAYBE EVEN MORE THAN I DO!” The “FRIENDSHIP” meter increases. “AUGH!” It goes up again. “URGH!” It goes up past the end of the meter! “NOOOOO!!!!”

 

The battlefield goes white. You can hear Papyrus’s shaky voice. “HUMAN. IT’S CLEAR NOW. YOU’RE COMPLETELY OBSESSED WITH ME.” Hm… taking it a bit far, but if it makes him happy, you won’t object. “EVERYTHING YOU DO. EVERYTHING YOU SAY. IT’S ALL BEEN FOR MY SAKE.” He takes a deep breath. “HUMAN. I WANT YOU TO BE HAPPY, TOO.” Are you gonna get a hug?! You’d love a hug from Papyrus! “IT’S TIME FOR ME TO EXPRESS MY FEELINGS. IT’S TIME I TOLD YOU. I, PAPYRUS…”

 

Papyrus comes into view again. You’re not sure what his expression means, but then he reverts back to his goofy grin. “HMM. WELL, I’M FLATTERED YOU CARE SO MUCH. BUT MAYBE COOL IT A LITTLE BIT…?” You almost snort, but feel a little sad too. You love being nice to Papyrus! How can you stop? And you haven’t been  _ that  _ clingy, have you? Unless… nobody’s ever been this nice to Papyrus before? Darn it, that just makes you want to like him even more! “YOU ARE A VERY NICE PERSON. I’M GLAD WE’RE FRIENDS.” Aw… that’s so genuine! And you’re officially friends with a cool huge skeleton! “BUT, I THINK YOU CAN REACH YOUR MAX POTENTIAL… IF YOU LIVE MORE FOR YOUR OWN SAKE, RATHER THAN JUST FOR MINE.” Despite the silly nature of the situation, you can tell that there’s some truth to Papyrus’s words. You  _ do  _ need to think about yourself more. At the home, some of the other kids would ask for extra juice and snacks when they wanted, but you never wanted to feel like a burden. But then they got snacks and you didn’t. You need to stand up for yourself, especially when you’re on your own adventure!

 

Papyrus continues talking while you think. “HMMM… HEY, I KNOW THE SOLUTION!!! YOU SHOULD HANG OUT WITH MY BOSS, UNDYNE!!!” Oh yeah, that’s right, Papyrus has a boss. What’re they like? “I THINK IF YOU SPREAD YOUR FRIEND-ENERGY OUT MORE… YOU’LL HAVE A MORE HEALTHY LIFESTYLE.” Also true. You can make a bunch of friends. After all, you don’t want to smother Papyrus, no matter how awesome he is. “YEAH!!! LET’S BE FRIENDS WITH UNDYNE!!! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!” He leaves the field, but then comes back. “OH, AND IF YOU EVER NEED TO REACH ME…” He takes out a phone that looks like yours. “HERE’S MY  **PHONE NUMBER** .” You take your phone out of your pocket and give it to him. He presses a few buttons and hands it back. “YOU CAN CALL ME ANY TIME! PLATONICALLY.” You’re not quite sure what that means, but you smile anyway. “WELL, GOTTA GO! NYEH HEH HEH!” He leaves for real, and you feel the ground return.

 

You look around Papyrus’s room. It looks like he’s gone. Maybe he went to go see his boss—Undyne? Was that it? Whatever, you can ask him if you need to—you’ve got his cell! You still feel a little lonely, though. Oh well. You’ve got to find the king! You’re on a mission, and you’ve got a friend now!

 

As you step out of the skeletons’ house, a thought strikes you. Can you still call Toriel? You pull out your phone again and call her number. It rings once or twice, but there’s no answer. Maybe the signal can’t reach. You hope your phone still works, though. You call Papyrus just to be sure. 

 

Papyrus picks up on the second ring. “SNOWDIN… HOME OF PAPYRUS! THAT’S THE SLOGAN, RIGHT?” You laugh, and he hangs up. It’s great to have a friend!

 

You have a feeling you won’t be coming back here very soon. You have to get on with your adventure. You SAVE one last time.

 

_ The sight of such a friendly town fills you with determination. _


	13. Waterfall Part 1: Hangin' at Grillby's

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bite-size friend! I'll be responding to comments shortly! :)

You head on towards where you fought Papyrus. The snow builds up again, but this time you power through it, and it dissipates almost immediately. You almost wish Papyrus would be standing at the end again, but he isn’t. You think about what he said. It’s true—you can’t attach yourself to him too much. You have to make more friends in order to enjoy this adventure. 

 

Speaking of adventure, you find yourself at the mouth of a cave. You enter and are greeted with a deep bluish-purple hue and the sound of running water. Ice floes are floating through the stream on your left, and there are thin waterfalls flowing down in multiple places on your right. You can also see bits of crystal embedded in the ground and walls. You can’t connect it to any place you’ve ever been before. It seems really mystical.

 

The feeling disappears almost immediately when you step forward a bit and see a clearing crowded with a few monsters. There’s the Monster Kid from earlier, a… fish-seahorse guy in the back, and Sans is sitting behind a stall. You talk to the Monster Kid. They’d probably be a great friend. “Yo!” They greet you. “Are you sneaking out to see her, too?” Without waiting for an answer, they go on: “Awesome… She’s the coolest, right?!” You smile and nod, despite not really knowing what they’re talking about. “I wanna be just like her when I grow up… Hey, don’t tell my parents I’m here. Ha ha.” You wouldn’t even if you knew who and where they were. Kids have to stick together with stuff like this.

 

The orange fish guy is standing next to a bright blue flower that’s as big as you. “This is an Echo Flower,” he explains. “It repeats the last thing it heard, over and over…” You touch the flower. “This is an Echo Flower. It repeats the last thing it heard, over and over…” Well, that was predictable.

 

You head over to Sans, happy to see him but a bit confused. What is he doing here? “what? haven’t you seen a guy with two jobs before?” He smiles, then looks to the side. “fortunately, two jobs means twice as many legally-required breaks. i’m going to grillby’s. wanna come?” You nod vigorously. You wanted to go in before, but weren’t sure you belonged. Now you’re invited! Sans sighs loudly. “well, if you insist… i’ll pry myself away from my work…” He walks over to the area you were heading towards, which is the opposite way from the town. “over here. i know a shortcut.” You follow him. He turns toward the wall and eases into a crevice, and it’s too dark to see. Suddenly, you feel bony fingers on your wrist, and you’re pulled into bright, orangey light. 

 

“fast shortcut, huh?” Uh, yeah. You look around. You have no idea how you got here, but you’re in Grillby’s, alright. 

 

Sans goes around greeting all the other patrons. You have trouble focusing on what he’s saying because you’re too busy trying to process what you’re seeing. There’s some kind of thing that looks like a giant plant with a mouth for a head, a blobby head of a rabbit sitting on a table, and several dogs, all of whom you recognize. Even with everything you’ve seen so far, you’re feeling pretty overwhelmed. You’re  _ very  _ glad you didn’t come in here on your own. You finally snap out of it when you notice someone saying something slightly different to Sans.

 

“Hey, Sans, weren’t you just in here for breakfast a few minutes ago?” A chubby fish monster asks.

 

“nah, i haven’t had breakfast in at least half an hour.” He winks. “you must be thinking of brunch.” The bar erupts into laughter. You giggle nervously, but you’re too high-strung to catch the joke.

 

Sans turns to you with a comforting smile. “here, get comfy.” He helps you up onto a stool, and you almost jump out of your seat at a loud  _ Phhhffffluuuurpppttt _ . 

 

Sans chuckles. “whoops, watch where you sit down. sometimes weirdos put whoopee cushions on the seats.”

 

You giggle for real. Sometimes you just need a whoopee cushion to ease your nerves. You swing your feet and look around, feeling much better about your surroundings. The monster behind the counter, who you assume is Grillby, looks to be a thin pillar of flame wearing glasses and a nice tuxedo. He’s polishing a glass, just like how bartenders do on grown-up T.V. shows. 

 

“anyway, let’s order.” Sans gestures to the counter, where you see the menu. It’s carved artfully into the wood. It’s a bit sparse. “whaddya want…?” Well, there are only two options—a burger or fries—but you like both of them. You like fries more though, especially from a restaurant. They’re a special treat at the home. You hope they’re actually French fries (even though France doesn’t exist in the Underworld) and not… spider fries or something. You point at the fries and grin. 

 

Sans nods. “hey, that sounds pretty good. grillby, we’ll have a double order of fries.” Grillby nods silently, puts down his glass, and walks through a door behind the counter. 

 

Sans rubs the back of his head. “so… what do you think… of my brother? cool or uncool?”

 

Uh, is that even a question? You give a huge smile and an enthusiastic thumbs-up, which you hope connotes “cool.” 

 

He smiles back. “of course he’s cool. you’d be cool too if you wore that outfit every day.” Wait, is he saying you’re not cool? Hmph. Well, you’re probably not as cool as Papyrus anyway. Still. Hurtful. “he’d only take that thing off if he absolutely had to. oh well. at least he washes it.” He gives you a knowing glance. “and by that i mean he wears it in the shower.” You hold in a snort behind your hands, and Sans gives you a playful punch on the shoulder.

 

Sans perks up. “here comes the grub.” Grillby returns from the back with two steaming-hot bowls of fries. They certainly look like regular potato fries to you, and they’re crispy-golden, just how you like them. You can’t wait to dig in, but you wonder if they have…

 

“want some ketchup?” Sans hands you a glass bottle. Yes! You can’t have fries without ketchup. You hate using the little packets—they never give you enough. You grab the bottle. Sans winks. “bone appetit.”

 

You smirk, then turn your attention to your food. You tip the ketchup lightly and prepare to shake it… but the cap falls off. Suddenly, your plate of delicious fries has become a soggy mess of an entire bottle full of ketchup. You’re a little surprised at how upset you are, but you can’t help it. You were really looking forward to this. Your lip trembles a little. 

 

Sans notices. “whoops. eh, fuhgeddaboutit. you can have mine. i’m not hungry anyway.” He pushes his plate towards you and nods encouragingly when you hesitate. You take a fry and dip it into the mound of ketchup your order has become. Aw man, it’s great! You start eating them in twos, not looking up. 

 

“anyway, cool or not, you have to admit papyrus tries real hard.” At what? Everything? That’s definitely true. “like how he keeps trying to be part of the royal guard.” Wait, so he’s not actually a member of the… human-hunting committee? He’s just a freelancer or something? You do remember him squawking about the royal guard. Why wouldn’t they accept him? Then again… he did kind of make friends with you instead of capturing you. Maybe he’s not cut out for that life. Sans looks up dreamily. “one day, he went to the house of the head of the royal guard… and begged her to let him be in it.” Her? Maybe that’s whoever the Monster Kid was talking about earlier. “of course, she shut the door on him because it was midnight.” You laugh around a mouthful of fries. Yep, that’s Papyrus. “but the next day, she woke up and saw him still waiting there. seeing his dedication, she decided to give him warrior training.” That would explain how he was actually pretty tough. She did a good job. “it’s, uh, still a work in progress.” You frown. His attitude might not be cut out for it, but you thought he fought really well… unless… real warriors are  _ way  _ tougher than that? You shudder. You hope you won’t have to find out the answer to that.

Sans trails off, and you slow down on the fries a bit. He clears his throat. “oh yeah, i wanted to ask you something.” His voice sounds a little different. More… flat, somehow. Less jokey. Suddenly, the orange glow of the bar seems to dim. 

 

“have you ever heard of a  **talking flower** ?” You freeze mid-chew, a cold feeling growing in your stomach. You’d almost forgotten about the nastier parts of this world. But Sans seems more capable than he’s letting on. Maybe he can help protect you. You realize he’s waiting for a response, and nod slowly.

 

He lets out a little sigh. “so you know all about it. the  **echo flower** .” Oh. Oops. False alarm. Good thing you actually know what those flowers are, too. “they’re all over the marsh. say something to them, and they’ll repeat it over and over…” You look at him and raise an eyebrow. Why’s he explaining this to you? “what about it? well, papyrus told me something interesting the other day. sometimes, when no one else is around… a flower appears and whispers things to him.” The cold feeling comes back in full force, spreading to your throat and fingertips. False false alarm. “flattery… advice… encouragement… ...predictions.” The cold starts to burn. Is that little jerk messing with Papyrus? He  _ better  _ not be…

 

“weird, huh?” Sans says nonchalantly. He must not actually know about Flowey. You’re on your own. “someone must be using an echo flower to play a trick on him. keep an eye out, ok? thanks.”

 

You nod once. Everything returns to normal.

 

Sans stretches and hops off the stool. “welp, that was a long break.” He turns to you and winks. “I can’t believe I let ya pull me away from work for that long. oh, by the way… i’m flat broke. can you foot the bill? it’s just 10000g.” Your eyes bug out. He has to be messing with you, right? You’re not sure how to respond…

 

“just kidding.” You feel your legs un-tense. “grillby, put it on my tab.” What is a “tab,” exactly? They always say that in grown-up movies. It sounds like a way you can get free stuff. 

 

Sans walks towards the door. When he’s about to leave, he stops and turns to you one last time. “by the way…” You wait. Not more flower stuff, you hope. “...i was going to say something, but i forgot.” Oh. That works.

 

Sans leaves, and you realize you don’t know how to take the shortcut back. Darn it. You’ll have to walk. Ah, it isn’t too far.

 

On the walk back, you get some time alone with your thoughts. Was Flowey really talking to Papyrus? Was he trying to get at you? Was Flowey just some kind of Echo Flower? That seemed unlikely…

 

You feel very lonely all of a sudden. You haven’t been in battle a lot recently, so you haven’t been hearing the Voice. (You feel like it deserves a capital moniker at this point.) Well, you have been mostly talking to people. The Voice wouldn’t really have a purpose there. Still, you miss having someone “with” you...

 

Wait… your cell phone! You’ll never be lonely as long as technology’s around! You pull it out and call Papyrus as you’re walking through the blinding snow area. He picks up immediately, which you feel is going to be a running theme. “THIS IS WHERE I TRIED TO CAPTURE YOU! WHAT A TERRIBLE MEMORY!” Aw! Your chest swells. You wish you could hug him! But calling him is nice too.

 

You trudge on and call him again when you’re in the mystical room. “WATERFALL… I BARELY KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT.” Well, what’s there to know? It’s water and it falls. “BUT I’LL DO MY BEST TO INFORM YOU!!!”

 

You finally make it back to Sans’ sentry area. He nods to you. “let’s hang out again sometime.” You smile. Sans isn’t quite as sweet as Papyrus, but he’s a lot of fun.

 

Just as you’re about to leave, you feel a different, more powerful swelling in your chest.

  
_ The sound of rushing water fills you with determination _ .


	14. Waterfall Part 2: A New Friend!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Save points in this game are weirdly spaced sometimes, but I like when they're close together!

You walk into the next room, and you’re greeted with a box. You don’t need to exchange anything right now, but you read the sign anyway.  _ This is a box. You can put an item in or take an item out. Why would you, though??? You can’t use items when they’re in the box! Sincerely, a box hater.  _ Well, that’s unnecessarily hurtful! You’re a fan of the box. You move on and look around the room.

 

There’s a gigantic rushing waterfall with either ice or rocks slowly floating down in some sort of pattern. It flows into a river and then into another waterfall with a wooden walkway underneath. You wonder… you dip your foot in the water, and it feels strange. Almost thicker than real water. Are your boots just heavier when they’re in water? You step in and cautiously wade around, gaining speed as you hear the pleasing sounds of your splashes. Suddenly, you feel something nudging you, and before you know it, you’re gently pushed over the edge by one of the falling rocks. You land on the wooden walkway below, and you don’t feel hurt at all. Huh. That’s weird. You’re able to walk through the room using the walkway, but you want to play in the water more. You look down. Your boots look fine—luckily, they’re waterproof as well as warm. 

 

You climb back up to the edge of the waterfall and wade through the river once again, taking care not to stand in the path of any of the rocks. Something catches your eye. There’s two little notches near the middle of the waterfall. Is there a secret passage?

 

You hold your breath and scrunch up your eyes, then decide to put your hand through first. The water parts around your hand, and you feel only a tiny spraying of mist. Whoa… that’s cool as heck. You rush into the curtain of water, and aside from some droplets on your hair, you’re totally fine.

 

The room behind the waterfall is tiny. There are some crystals in the walls and a pair of fat glowing mushrooms. Curious, you touch one. It makes a “peep” and dims. You touch it again, and it “peeps” and starts glowing. Cool!

 

In the back of the room, there is a crumpled mass of pink fabric covered in dull sequins. You walk up to it and realize that it’s a tutu. Should you take it? Might as well. There’s a box just outside anyway. You take the old tutu.

 

As you’re examining it, the Voice speaks up, startling you.  _ Old Tutu. Armor, DEF 10. Finally, a protective piece of armor.  _ You giggle, and the Voice hums back happily. You missed their quips. Well, you may as well put it on.  _ You equipped the Old Tutu _ , the Voice says unnecessarily. It’s a little frilly for you, but it’s pretty comfortable. The fabric is more sheer when it’s not all bunched up, and when you look down, it barely looks like you’re wearing anything besides your regular clothes. Suddenly, the ribbon in your hair comes undone. You pick it up and are about to re-tie it when the Voice speaks up.  _ Only one piece of armor can be equipped at a time _ . Um… ok… you’re not really sure why, but you put the ribbon in your pocket anyway. You’ll put it in the box.

 

You store the Faded Ribbon and finally cross the waterfall. In the next room, the light is strange and shady. You can see your shadow stretching out a long way ahead of you. Pretty soon, you’re up to the top of your head in some tall grass. It’s not itchy or anything, but you feel a little uneasy. You start wading through the grass when you hear the sound of footsteps above you.

 

You almost gasp. Standing on a ledge over your head is a very tall, very big person wearing a very tall, very big suit of armor. You’re pretty sure it’s not a bait-and-switch like the Greater Dog this time—you can see armored fingers drumming against the figure’s waist. Then you see the source of the footsteps. What?? It’s Papyrus! You can’t see his face at all. What is he doing here? Who is this person?

 

You hear his voice. It’s shaky and serious, any you’re getting more nervous by the minute. You hope the grass is covering you completely. “H… HI, UNDYNE! I’M HERE WITH MY DAILY REPORT…” Your heart somehow jumps into your throat, out of your chest, and misses a beat all at once.  _ THAT’S  _ Undyne? His boss? The one he said you should make friends with? You clap your hands over your mouth. You’re sure she can hear you breathing. Maybe she can even hear your heart.

 

Papyrus goes on. “UHHH… REGARDING THAT HUMAN I CALLED YOU ABOUT EARLIER…” Your eyes feel hot. Is he going to sell you out? He was planning on giving you to  _ her _ ? Does he have to choose between his new friend and his boss? Does he know how terrified you are? Your hand is so clammy it almost slips from your mouth.

 

The figure—Undyne—turns and says something you can’t hear over the clanking metal. Papyrus stands up straighter. “...HUH? DID I FIGHT THEM?” You hold your breath. Papyrus turns toward where you are and strikes a confident pose. But he doesn’t look confident. In fact, he looks exactly how you feel. “Y-YES! OF COURSE I DID! I FOUGHT THEM VALIANTLY!”

 

Undyne turns again and says something. “...WHAT? DID I CAPTURE THEM…? W-W-WELL...” Papyrus trails off. You realize that he’s trying not to lie, and even if he does, it won’t be convincing. What does this mean for you? “NO.” His voice stops wavering and he looks right at Undyne. “I TRIED VERY HARD, UNDYNE, BUT IN THE END…” Uh-oh. What’s he going to say here? You feel like Undyne won’t be quite as receptive to the idea of “hanging out” with a human. Papyrus turns towards you again, and the look on his voice almost makes you start crying. “I FAILED.”

 

Undyne says something else, and Papyrus jumps. “...W-WHAT? YOU’RE GOING TO TAKE THE HUMAN’S SOUL YOURSELF…” You feel like you’re in a nightmare. You can’t move, but you’re trembling so much you’re worried the grass will shake. Everything seems darker, but your eyes are burning red. For the first time, for real, you regret leaving Toriel. Papyrus’s sweet, pleading voice is your only anchor. You hear his footsteps. “BUT UNDYNE, YOU DON’T H-HAVE TO DESTROY THEM! YOU SEE… YOU SEE…” His voice dies. You look up and see him backing away from Undyne. He opens his mouth, but nothing happens. He tries again. “... I UNDERSTAND. I’LL HELP YOU IN ANY WAY I CAN.” Your heart clenches, but you see his hand briefly touch his pocket, where you know his phone is. Is there hope? You love Papyrus, but if there’s one person you want on your side during a time like this… he isn’t exactly the one you want backing you up. You want Toriel. Your eyes feel hot again.

 

Papyrus walks away, but Undyne stays put. You gulp. It doesn’t look like she’s going to move. You desperately wish for the Voice, but they’re silent. You take a tiny step forward and the grass rushes around you. 

 

You may as well have screamed out loud. Undyne makes a noise, then starts walking toward the edge of the cliff. You hear huge, clanking footsteps. They get louder as she gets closer. She leans over the edge and you can clearly see, despite your burning eyes, a bright dot of yellow in the face visor, along with a mask that looks like gnashing teeth.

 

Undyne sticks out her hand and there’s a bright flash of light. The flash lengthens and gains a shape, and suddenly she’s grasping a huge, glowing blue spear. She points it towards the patch of grass, then looks around for seven seconds. (You know because you were holding your breath.) Then the spear vanishes. She backs away, stops a moment, and melts into the shadows. The last thing you see is a bright dot of yellow.

 

You almost let out your breath in a gush, but worry that she’ll still be listening, somehow. You take little hiccupy breaths until you’re certain you can go on.

 

You tiptoe through the rest of the grass, and as you finally exit, you freeze in your tracks once more as a flash of yellow shoots out of the grass as well. Whew… it’s just the Monster Kid, but you were fully ready to accept death for a second there. 

 

The Monster Kid jumps up and down, barely able to say anything. “Yo… did you see the way she was staring at you…?” You’re still blinking in the abject fear that she might have seen you and just didn’t attack because she also noticed the Kid there when you realize that they’re waiting for a response. You nod once. “That…” The Kid takes a deep breath. “...was AWESOME!” You, um, beg to differ. “I’m SOOOO jealous!” You blink once more. “What’d you do to get her attention…? Ha ha.” Ha ha indeed. “C’mon! Let’s go watch her beat up some bad guys!” They rush off, fall flat on their face, pick themselves up, and rush off again.

 

You stare after them. Even in the midst of everything, you feel kind of comforted that they view you as a friend. You hope you see them again.

 

As you leave the room, your steps growing less and less shaky, you feel a deep swelling in your chest. 

 

_ A feeling of dread hangs over you… But you stay determined. _


	15. Waterfall Part 3: A Mythtical Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nice spot for a save, actually!

You walk into the next room, trying to shake off your chills. The atmosphere is strange here. The deep blues and purples seem quiet and mystical, yet dark and foreboding at the same time. 

 

You see a plaque on the wall and read it.  _ When four Bridge Seeds align in the water, they will sprout.  _ Looking to your right, you see four spindly, diamond-shaped plants that must be Bridge Seeds next to a deep, still body of water. More puzzles. … You decide to call Papyrus, even if this one seems pretty easy. He’d appreciate it.

 

“A BRIDGE GROWS IF YOU ALIGN FOUR BRIDGE SEEDS,” he says well-meaningly. “BUT THAT’S SORT OF LIMITED IN USEFULNESS.” Just like his hint. Ha ha. “WHY DON’T WE HAVE AIRPLANE SEEDS???” That  _ would  _ be pretty cool, but you’re not sure how that would work. Also, why would they have airplanes underground?

 

You approach the Bridge Seeds and quickly determine that they’re too unwieldy to be held by hand, so you balance them on your head. They make a little squeaking noise when you touch them. You carry the first one to the water’s edge and watch it float to the other side. Why isn’t it carried down by the water? Huh, magic.

 

You repeat the process for the other three, and sure enough, the second the fourth one touches the third, they blossom into huge pink flowers that you can walk on. Kind of like lily pads, but you can’t actually walk on those. The flowers only shift a tiny bit. The bridge is sturdier than it looks.

 

The second you walk into the next room, the ground falls away and it takes a moment for you to catch your breath. It’s so tranquil here and you haven’t had a battle for so long. Whew!

 

_ Aaron flexes in!  _ The Voice announces. He certainly does. It’s a horse… maid… horse-mer? Maid-mer-horse? Oh…. A…. A seahorse. It’s a seahorse. With huge muscles. He doesn’t look too scary, though. He looks like some of the annoying older kids at the home. One is even named Aaron. They always hog the basketball court on the playground and you can’t play four-square.

 

You hear an “ahem” from the Voice. Guess they want you to make a move. You choose ACT and are greeted with Check, Flex, and Shoo. Shoo seems antagonistic. Better Check first.

 

_ AARON, ATK 24 DEF 12. This seahorse has a lot of HP (Horsepower).  _ You don’t actually know what horsepower is, and you’re willing to bet the Voice doesn’t either. They “hmph,” then continue.  _ All of his attacks are harder to dodge at the bottom of the box.  _ That’s actually a good tip. Thanks, Voice! You hear a giggle. They’re getting more emotive, and you’re glad. You kind of missed them.

 

“ _‘CHECK’” all you want ;),_ ” Aaron drawls. You aren’t entirely sure how he managed to “say” the smiley winky face. Maybe it’s the same way you can feel when the Voice shrugs, which they’re doing now.

 

Aaron’s attack is a bunch of droplets of (what you hope is) water raining down from the top of the box. It’s a bit tricky, but you stay near the top and get through without a scratch. 

 

_ Smells like an underwater barnyard,  _ the Voice comments. You have to agree. You ACT and decide on Flex.

 

_ You flex _ , the Voice says as you hold up and bend your arms.  _ Aaron flexes twice as hard. ATTACK increases for you two _ . Darn it, ATTACK doesn’t matter for you, but it does for him!

 

“ _Flexing contest? Okay, flex more ;)._ ” Aaron’s next attack is big, flexed arms rising from either side of the screen. You dodge to the right and left and manage not to get hit again.

 

_ Aaron is ready for your next flex,  _ the Voice informs you. You choose the same action.  _ You flex harder. Aaron flexes thrice as hard. ATTACK increases for you two.  _ C’mon, Aaron, you’re just a kid. You’re not even old enough to go to the gym. The best you’ve got is your monkey bar skills. 

 

“ _ Nice!! I won’t lose tho ;). _ ” You’re so busy trying to figure out how he managed to spell “tho” like that audibly that you forget to dodge and get hit once. Darn. He took off 5 HP.

 

_ Aaron is ready for your next flex.  _ They sound bored. You kind of are too.  _ You flex. Aaron flexes very hard…  _ Aaron begins to rise out of the battlefield.  _ He flexes himself out of the room!  _ They sound as surprised (and relieved) as you are.

 

_ YOU WON! You earned 0 EXP and 30 gold. _ Nice! You’ll never say no to gold. Unless it’s gold from a bad person or something. Or if it’s stolen. Or if you have to do bad things to get it. Actually, you’d say no to gold a lot. Unless you’ve earned it, which you just have.

 

The rest of the room looks like another Bridge Seed puzzle, but more complicated. Papyrus time. “HMMM… THIS PUZZLE… I’VE GOT IT!!! TRY TO BUILD A BRIDGE WITH THE BRIDGE SEEDS!” ...well, you aren’t sure what you expected. Papyrus is great for moral support.

 

You look around. Below you is a tiny island with a sign on it, to your left is a river with strange shore boundaries, and above you are some more glowing mushrooms and Bridge Seeds. You start walking towards the Bridge Seeds when you feel a battle coming on.

 

_ Woshua shuffles up _ . The Voice is using a good choice of words there. This monster is pretty cute. It looks kinda like a turtle with a round head and a tank of water on its back. The tank is holding a bird. Your ACT options are Check, Touch, Clean, and Joke. Well, Check is always a good first choice.

 

_ WOSHUA, ATK 18, DEF 5. This humble germophobe seeks to cleanse the whole world _ . Ugh, you can’t stand germophobes. Nurse is one, so you can’t let her catch you if you drop a snack on the floor. No fair. Five-second rule! You don’t want to upset Woshua, though.

 

“ _ Out!!! Darned spot _ ” says Woshua. The bird tweets. That sounds like something from a boring movie you were watching with the other kids on T.V. His attack is a bar of soap bouncing around the screen. You get caught off-guard once.

 

_ Woshua is rinsing off a pizza _ , the Voice tells you. It’s a lost cause, Wosh. You decide to Clean, for obvious reasons. 

 

_ You ask Woshua to clean you _ , the Voice prompts. You make scrubbing motions on your arms.  _ It hops around excitedly.  _

 

“ _ Green means clean _ ,” Woshua says. Hmmm… a healing attack? You’re right on the money. His next attack is water droplets in a spiral. Some of them are slow and green, and running into them gives you HP back. Yes! Right choice. Can you Spare now? ...Yes, you can. Excellent!

 

_ YOU WON! You earned 0 EXP and 25 gold _ . Nice! You’re getting the hang of this.

 

You continue walking towards the back of the room and find a golden bell and a small plaque on the wall.  _ If an error is made, the Bell Blossom can call Bridge Seeds back to where they started _ . Okay, good to know. 

 

You decide to start by getting to the island with the sign. It’s pretty simple to get there. You line up the Seeds and stand on the bridge to read the sign.  _ Congratulations! You failed the puzzle!  _ You roll your eyes and hear the Voice snicker. Yeah, you’d like to see  _ them  _ try a puzzle. They “hmph.”

 

You ring the Bell Blossom. You didn’t notice it before, but if you go down and right, there’s a river that looks like it leads somewhere. You send four more Bridge Seeds down and, sure enough, a bridge forms at the edge of the river.

 

Wow! There’s a whole other room. You step off the bridge onto some wooden planks and see a bench and an Echo Flower. The Flower repeats: “I just wasn’t ready for the responsibility.” They can say that again. This journey is tough. What are they talking about, though? You spot something under the bench and take a peek. There’s… a lone quiche sitting under the bench. You take the Abandoned Quiche. Seems a little overdramatic. What does the Voice have to say about it?  _ Heals 34 HP. A psychologically damaged spinach egg pie.  _ Yeah, that’s just about it.

 

You walk back to the main room and start thinking about the actual puzzle. Hmmm… the shoreline is jagged in a way that no four spaces can reach the other side. This is tricky. You’ll have to think out of the box.

 

While surveying the area, you have an idea. You’ve only placed the Seeds horizontally before; why not vertically? You do just that, standing on the part of the shore that reaches farthest into the river and sending the Seeds towards the waterfall. Yes! It makes a bridge that connects two of the jutting pieces. Whoo! You’re proud. That was kinda hard.

 

As you’re heading towards the door, your phone rings. It’s Papyrus! “HELLO! THIS IS PAPYRUS!!!” He clears his throat. “SO… WHAT ARE YOU WEARING…?” Um… that’s a bit weird. You also hate talking on the phone. He seems to notice your pause. “I’M… ASKING FOR A FRIEND.” Uhhhhhh… ohhhhh. Is he talking about Undyne? Crap, what do you say?? “SHE THOUGHT SHE SAW YOU WEARING A DUSTY TUTU.” Ack!! Where did she see you?! You whip your head around. This place is too weird! She could be anywhere! You barely hear Papyrus continue: “IS THAT TRUE? ARE YOU WEARING A DUSTY TUTU?” You couldn’t speak even if you wanted to. You can feel your phone start to slip around your clammy hands. Finally, you manage to mumble an “mm-hmm.” You figure you might as well tell the truth. Also, you can’t even think of a lie. “SO YOU ARE WEARING A DUSTY TUTU… GOT IT!!! WINK WINK!!!” Um, what? Wink wink?? Does he think you were lying?? “HAVE A NICE DAY!” He hangs up, and for once, he hasn’t improved your morale much. 

 

You take a few deep breaths. You’ve come this far. Adventures can’t be all fun and games. You’ve gotta face your fears—which may or may not be Undyne specifically—sometime. You step through the door, feeling scared but prepared.

 

Oh… this room is beautiful. Hundreds of glittering jewels shine through the pitch-black ceiling, giving the appearance of a starry sky. All around you are Echo Flowers. A plaque in front of you reads  _ WISHING ROOM _ . You’ve always been told to make wishes on falling stars, but you’ve never seen one. You used to stay up pretty late waiting for one. You’d get paranoid that you’d fall asleep and miss your opportunity to wish, especially right before grown-ups came to visit the home.

 

You don’t really want to think about that right now. You touch an Echo Flower instead. “A long time ago, monsters would whisper their wishes to the stars in the sky.” Well, if you’d known that it could be  _ any  _ star, you’d have been a lot less stressed! “If you hoped with all your heart, your wish would come true.” That certainly doesn’t work for humans. You know that for a fact. “Now, all we have are these sparkling stones on the ceiling…” Oh yeah, that’s right. Monsters were trapped underground. How long ago was that? Long enough for humans to have forgotten, you guess. You’d never heard of anything like that happening before you got here.

 

You move on to the next. “Thousands of people wishing together can’t be wrong! The king will prove that.” The king… that’s who you’re supposed to see. Can he grant wishes if a lot of people wish together? Sometimes you and the other kids would wish for each other. A few times it might have worked, but you could all never be sure if that was your wishing or just luck. Most of the time it didn’t work at all.

 

You’re lost in your thoughts when you fall into a battle.  _ You walk into Moldsmal,  _ the Voice says. Oops! You didn’t mean to. Oh… you can spare them both! Nice!  _ YOU WON! You earned 0 EXP and 0 gold.  _ Well, that makes sense. You didn’t do anything,

 

The next two flowers are side by side. One says, “C’mon, sis! Make a wish!” The other says, “I wish my sister and I will see the real stars someday…” You wonder how long ago that wish was made. A few older kids have left the home without ever having their wishes come true. 

 

You see a telescope and a last flower. You look at the flower first. “Ah… seems my horoscope is the same as last week’s…” Horoscopes are the things with the shapes in the stars, right? You can never remember if you’re the twins or the crab.

 

You’re excited for the telescope. You’re able to move it around, and you see all sorts of pretty star shapes and crystals. Hang on, what’s this? In the top left corner, there’s a puff of white and you can see a message: CHECK WALL with an arrow pointing up. Cool, a secret! You walk up to the wall and press on it lightly. A doorway opens up with a “boiyoing!”

 

Now you’re on another wooden walkway over dark, purpley water... and some water sausages! You’re glad you know what they are now. There’s also a long wall with a bunch of plaques. You read the first. The writing is ancient, and you can just barely make out what it says.

 

_ “The War of Humans and Monsters.”  _ Wow, finally you’re getting somewhere with this! You move to the next.  _ Why did the humans attack? Indeed, it seemed they had nothing to fear _ .  _ Humans are unbelievably strong. It would take the SOUL of nearly every monster… just to equal the power of a single human SOUL.  _ Hmmm… maybe they didn’t know they were powerful? You sure didn’t. You didn’t even really know what a SOUL was until you came down here.

 

You read the next:  _ But humans have one weakness. Ironically, it is the strength of their SOUL. Its power allows it to persist outside the human body, even after death.  _ Without really realizing it, you touch your chest. You didn’t know that. Then again, you’ve never died. Does that mean… that… that people who’ve died… they’re still around, sort of? They just can’t talk… you go on.  _ If a monster defeats a human, they can take its SOUL. A monster with a human SOUL… a horrible beast with unfathomable power.  _ Wait. Is that why everyone wants to hunt humans? What’s going on down here? 

 

The next plaque doesn’t have any words. It’s just a drawing of a strange creature… it looks like it shouldn’t exist. It just seems… wrong. It’s very unsettling. 

 

You step onto a small square of wood and almost stumble when it starts moving, taking you across the water. You step off, and the sound of rushing water becomes louder. Your heart beats a bit faster. You don’t feel good.

 

The next room is shadowy. Your steps are shaky, but you force your feet forward. 

 

You barely have time to reach when a spear twice your size slams down right in front of you. You hear a droning noise, and Undyne is there, standing on the ledge just to your left, holding another spear.

 

There’s no time to be scared. You have to run.

 

Spears rain down around you, three at a time. You think back to a T.V. show the older kids were watching where a boy was getting shot at with arrows. “Zig-zag! He should have zig-zagged!” They said after he got hit. You run from one side of the bridge to the other, and you haven’t gotten hit, but soon, the path bends. A spear catches your arm, and the ground falls away. Do you have to fight her? Turns out, not really. A hail of spears falls down from the top of the box, and you get hit. It was almost unavoidable.

 

You get hit once again, but you make it through the rest. You can almost predict where the spears are going to land by now.

 

Finally, you’ve cleared the bridge. You run as far as you can into a patch of grass until you hear Undyne’s footsteps behind you and you hunker down.

 

She keeps walking, then stops. You can see her helmet right above you. For some reason, you aren’t as scared as the first time you saw her. Adrenaline, maybe?

 

You see her slowly lift up her arm, eye the patch of grass where you’re hiding, and plunge her hand down. You squeeze your eyes shut, but instead of feeling cold metal on your skin, you hear a tiny squeak. Then, Undyne lifts up… the Monster Kid! They’re grinning hopefully. Undyne holds them for a second, then gently sets them down and returns to the last room.

 

You take a deep breath. Next time, you might not be so lucky. You hope there’s a shop coming up or something. You want to be prepared for when you inevitably have to fight her.

 

Your steps out of the patch of grass aren’t as shaky as they were before you saw her. You’re getting used to her. Soon, maybe, you’ll be able to breathe when she’s around. After you’re a few steps out of the grass, you hear another sound of footsteps. The Monster Kid bursts out, hopping from side to side.

 

“Yo… did you see that!?” You nod and give what you hope is an impressed smile. “Undyne just… TOUCHED ME! I’m never washing my face ever again…!” Then they sigh. “Man, are you unlucky. If you were standing just a LITTLE bit to the left…!” You shrug and try to laugh. “Yo, don’t worry! I’m sure we’ll see her again!” They run off, fall, and get up. You’d beg to differ that you’re unlucky, at least in that sense. 

 

The next room has one Echo Flower and a table with a pink cheese on it. Looking closer, you realize that it’s a cheese with a pink crystal around it. The Voice comments:  _ This cheese has been here for so long, a crystal has grown around it. It’s stuck to the table…  _ You’re sensing an ongoing theme. You check the flower. “Squeak.” You could have guessed.

 

Again, you feel that swelling in your chest, along with a sense of relief and satisfaction that you’re still okay.

 

_ Knowing the mouse may one day extract the cheese from the mystical crystal… It fills you with determination. _


	16. Waterfall Part 4: Fights and Friendships

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting comments and kudos fills me with determination! Special thanks to my one commenter who has been commenting consistently for the past few chapters.

The next room is a sight for sore eyes. There’s Sans, a Box, and a telescope. Nice! You walk up to Sans.

 

“i’m thinking about getting into the telescope business,” says Sans. You’re not really sure that’s the most lucrative business around, seeing as you just used a free one, but okay. “it’s normally 50000g to use this premium telescope… but… since i know you, you can use it for free. howzabout it?” He winks. You smirk and raise your eyebrows. You don’t believe him for a minute, but you do want to look through it. You nod. You take a peek… it’s just plain red, but you feel a wet feeling around your eye. Did he just pull the eye-ring telescope trick on you? You thought that only happened in Looney Tunes. You cross your arms. “huh? you aren’t satisfied?” He winks. “don’t worry. i’ll give you a full refund.” 

 

You roll your eyes and touch your left one. A pinkish residue comes away on your finger, but fades quickly. Good. 

 

You call Papyrus again, just for the heck of it. It’s fun to be able to call someone! “HUH? MY BROTHER? OF COURSE HE HAS A TELESCOPE. SANS LOVES OUTER SPACEY SCI-FI STUFF.” You “hmmm.” “HMM? HE NEVER TOLD YOU? YEAH, SANS NEVER TELLS ANYBODY ANYTHING!” Papyrus says it in a cheery tone as always, but you sense some deeper truth in his words. You look back at Sans. He does seem very private. Actually, thinking about people who never got wishes granted, he reminds you even more of the older kids. Lots of them were really nice to you and the other kids—played video games with you and took you to the park and stuff—but sometimes you saw them when they were alone, or when Teacher was talking to them quietly, and they looked really sad. Deep down, nobody wanted to be an older kid in the home, unless they came there from a worse place when they were already older. You always had a feeling that you’d grow up to be one of the quieter older kids in the home.

 

You smile at Sans, and he winks back. You hope you keep seeing him a lot.

 

The rest of the room actually reminds you of outer space. There’s a pool of bright, glowing water that reminds you of a fancy hot tub or hot spring, complete with shiny bubbles rising out of it. More wooden bridges cross over it as well. Standing by the wall is a little monster that looks like an onion with two tiny eyes. You wave to it, and it starts talking rapidly.

 

“What’s a star? Can you touch it? Can you eat it? Can you kill it?” It pauses, then looks at you. “...are you a star?” You blink. The only thing you know is that you aren’t a star. You don’t actually know what stars are. You know the sun is one. But… monsters can’t even see the sun. Even humans can’t touch them. You can eat Starburst candy. And you know stars can die. But you don’t really know a lot about them otherwise. At least you’ve seen them.

 

Before exploring the rest of the room, you decide to go through the doorway next to Sans. You walk through a long hallway and find… the Nice Cream man! Also, another Box. The Nice Cream man (bunny?) still looks upset, so you go up to him. 

 

He sighs. “I relocated my store, but there are still no customers…” He opens one eye and sees you, then brightens up like before. “Fortunately, I’ve thought of a solution!! Punch cards!! Every time you buy a Nice Cream, you can take a punch card from the box. If you have 3 cards, you can trade them for a free Nice Cream! They’re sure to get the customers to come back!” You smile and nod. You aren’t really sure how that works, but he probably knows more than you do. “Nice Cream! It’s the frozen treat that warms your heart! Now just 25G!” You check your pockets. Wow, you have 228G already! That’s more than enough, even though you already bought one. You buy one and hand the man your own money, which still feels cool. “Super! Here you go! Your Card’s in the box!” 

 

You take the Nice Cream and walk over to the box. You take your card, then check the markings on the wall.  _ The ancient glyphs have been painted over with a list of 21 different flavors,  _ the Voice says. You wince. Oof. Can’t you get in trouble for that? 

 

You walk back into the main room and head over to the gorgeous water. There’s a fork in the road; you can go forwards or down. You go forwards first, which turns out to be a dead end. There’s a bird standing on the other side of a disproportionately small gap, but you can’t get its attention. Oh well. Down it is!

 

On the other side of the bridge, there’s a crisscrossing of ledges and walkways over the water. You notice an Echo Flower and hear a passing conversation. “So? Don’t you have any wishes to make?” The next Flower has the response. “...hmmm, just one, but… it’s kind of stupid.” You don’t know who that person was or what they were talking about, but you’re pretty sure no wishes are stupid. Especially if they’re made by the kind of person who worries if their wishes are stupid. 

 

As you’re wandering around to find the rest of the conversation (a weird thing to do), you find yourself in a side room with a patch of grass in the middle. You see something on the ground within the grass and pause to pick it up. It’s a pair of ballet shoes, which you take. Why are they here?

 

Suddenly, something hits you. Actually, a lot of things hit you at once. In the Ruins, you found a toy knife and the ribbon. In Snowdin, you saw the Tough Glove in the Box, and then the shop was selling a bandanna. Now you’ve found a tutu and a pair of ballet shoes in Waterfall. Those things all seem to go together in pairs. 

 

_ Every human that comes down here meets the same fate. I have seen it again and again. They come. They leave. They die _ .

 

You didn’t realize the full impact of that statement when Toriel said it. All these things you found… they’re for kids. The ballet shoes are just about your size. They must have been left here with that tutu by some kid who came before you. And died. But… human SOULS don’t disappear. So they’re still here, somewhere.

 

_ They… ASGORE… will kill you.  _

 

ASGORE… that person. That’s who you have to look out for. Are they in league with Flowey or something? Also… is that Voice you’re hearing the voice of some other kid who fell down here before? ...And died?

 

The Voice is silent. They don’t seem very inclined to give away a lot about themself. But you do have a theory.

 

You look at the Ballet Shoes for a long time. Somebody like you owned them one day. Maybe you’ll meet them someday. Whatever happens, you want to do well by them. The Voice finally speaks up to examine the shoes.   _ “Ballet Shoes” — weapon AT 7. These used shoes make you feel incredibly dangerous.  _ Are they talking about how you feel right now, or how you  _ will  _ feel when you’re wearing them? You don’t need to find out how you feel when you’re wearing them. You don’t need a stronger weapon, and you feel like they aren’t yours to wear.

 

Also, your pockets are getting full. You have to visit the Box again.

 

After unloading the Punch Card and the shoes, you realize you don’t have a lot of space left. You hope you find another Box soon. As soon as you get back on track, your phone rings. You feel very popular, even though you know it’s just Papyrus.

 

“HELLO! THIS IS PAPYRUS!!! REMEMBER WHEN I ASKED YOU ABOUT CLOTHES?” Yes, yes you do. It was way more stressful than it needed to be. “WELL, THE FRIEND WHO WANTED TO KNOW…” Ah, yes. This “friend” who wants to reap your SOUL. “HER OPINION OF YOU IS VERY… MURDERY.” Okay, despite yourself, you have to laugh at that. Papyrus is too precious. “BUT I BET YOU KNEW THAT ALREADY!” Oh… he knew that you knew? Huh. “AND BECAUSE YOU KNEW THAT… I TOLD HER WHAT YOU TOLD ME YOU WERE WEARING! A DUSTY TUTU! BECAUSE I KNEW, OF COURSE… AFTER SUCH A SUSPICIOUS QUESTION… YOU WOULD OBVIOUSLY CHANGE YOUR CLOTHES!” Well… darn it. Whatever. You wouldn’t have changed out of the tutu anyway—it’s the best “armor” you’ve got. “YOU’RE SUCH A SMART COOKIE!” Awww. It’s physically impossible to be annoyed with Papyrus. You love compliments like that!  “THIS WAY YOU’RE SAFE AND I DIDN’T LIE!” Honestly, you care way more about Papyrus’s conscience being safe than the slim off-chance that Undyne might not find you based on what you’re wearing. “NO BETRAYAL ANYWHERE! BEING FRIENDS WITH EVERYONE IS EASY!!!” He hangs up. That was stressful.

 

Continuing, you find another Echo Flower, still repeating snippets of the same conversation. “Don’t say that! Come on, I promise I won’t laugh.” The sweetness of the conversation is quickly offset by the next plaque you read on the wall. “The power to take their SOULS. This is the power that the humans feared.” Well, you were right. Not worth starting a war over, in your opinion. Grown-ups are so stupid sometimes. There’s a lot you don’t understand, but it’s not that hard to listen to other people. You do a lot of that. Other people talk a lot.

 

The next room is very dark, with a single thin walkway spanning the whole room. The water is also back to dark blue, not glowing turquoise. Suddenly, something thin and pale rises out of the water, which startles you. You stop, and it just stays there. You keep walking, and another, identical tendril rises up on the other side of the walkway. An octopus? You really hope it’s friendly. Octopuses kind of scare you.

 

After a bit of cautious walking, you notice the water to your left bubbling up. A huge creature with really huge, really sparkly eyes and a head kind of like an onion slowly peeks out. It has a weird wide mouth and big pink cheeks. It kind of looks like a character from one of those Japanese shows you watch with the older kids sometimes.

 

It speaks in a weird, stilted voice. (Everything about it is sort of weird.) “Hey... there… Noticed you were… here…” It tilts its head to the side and its eyes get buggy and stop shining. “I’m Onionsan! Onionsan, y’hear!”

 

It stops talking but continues to stare at you, unblinking. It seems harmless, but you feel kind of uncomfortable. You keep walking, and unfortunately, Onionsan moves with you.

 

“You’re visiting Waterfall, huh! It’s great here, huh! You love it, huh!” You have the Voice to tell you those things… you don’t need a weird… onion… squid… thing to tell you. Its eyes sparkle up, and you can’t tell which kind of its eyes is weirder. “Yeah! Me too! It’s my Big Favorite.” You try to avoid eye contact as you continue, but it’s hard.

 

It hangs its head. “Even though, the water’s getting so shallow here… I, have to sit down all the time, but…” Its eyes bug out. “He-hey! That’s OK! It beats moving to the city! And living in a crowded aquarium!” It scrunches up its eyes. “Like all my friends did!” Okay… Onionsan’s got you. You feel bad. You’ve been to an aquarium, and it did look pretty cramped, even though it was beautiful. Onionsan’s still making you feel weird, though. And you feel like this might lead into a discussion of wanting to get to the surface. 

 

“And the aquarium’s full, a-anyway, so even if I wanted to, I…” Yeah. Okay. You feel pretty bad now. “That’s okay though, y’hear! Undyne’s gonna fix everything, y’hear!” Yep. Theeeere it is. “I’m gonna get out of here and live in the ocean! Y’hear!”

 

You keep walking, and finally,  _ finally,  _ you’re at the end.

 

“Hey… there… That’s the end of this room. I’ll see you around! Have a good time! In Waterfallllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll” Onionsan sinks below the surface, and you feel sad, but mostly relieved. 

 

As you’re walking around a corner in the next room, you get pulled into a battle mid-step. The Voice explains:  _ Shyren hides in the corner but somehow encounters you anyway.  _ Oh… ok. Shyren looks like a small, shy fish with bangs on top of a squiggly lizard-body-thing. Your options are Check, Hum, Smile, and Conduct, so you have a pretty good idea of what to do. You Check first though, as always. 

 

_ SHYREN, ATK 19, DEF 0. Tone deaf. She’s too ashamed to sing her deadly song.  _ Awww, that’s sad. You’re guessing you have to help her out.

 

_ “... … toot…”  _ Shyren lets a single music note fall. 

 

_ Shyren hums very faintly.  _ You immediately Smile. This seems like a Napstablook situation. 

 

_ You smile. You ask to see Shyren’s smile, too.  _ You’re glad the Voice talks for you sometimes. You pointed at her, but weren’t sure if she’d understand. It seems like monsters can hear the Voice in battle, though, like when Napstablook heard that they “didn’t have a sense of humor.”  _ Shyren gets quieter. In the corner, Aaron nods his head approvingly.  _ Oh, darn it. Wrong choice. You don’t want Aaron thinking you’re cool.

 

_ Shyren pretends to be a pop idol.  _ Awww, that seems kind of mean! You decide to Hum. Maybe she’ll join in.

 

Oh! She turned her face toward you, and she’s smiling.  _ You hum a jazz ballad. Shyren follows your melody.  _ Haha, you’re humming a song from an old movie. You aren’t sure how it goes, exactly, but you don’t think it matters. 

 

_ “si re, si re, si mi si mi”  _ Shyren sings a lovely little song, with tons of notes (that you manage to dodge), and you wish it went on longer.

 

_ Shyren seems much more comfortable singing along.  _ Hmmm… Hum more, or Conduct? You choose Hum. You aren’t really sure how to Conduct, but maybe the Voice will help you. You notice her name is yellow, but you want to hear her sing more. 

 

_ You hum some more. Monsters are drawn to the music. Suddenly, it’s a concert…  _ You can see the outlines of monsters around you outside the battle. Shyren looks even happier.

 

_ “Si Fa Si Fa So Fa So Mi Re Re”  _ You dodge more notes, and the song is even nicer. This is awesome!

 

_ Sans is selling tickets made of toilet paper,  _ the Voice snorts. You giggle too, and Hum again.

 

_ You hum some more. The seats are sold out. You feel like a rock star.  _ Woo! You feel like the Voice is enjoying this too. They’re even humming a bit now.

 

_ “Mi So Mi So Mi Si Mi La Si So”  _ The song is even faster now, and dodging is even kind of fun.

 

_ The crowd tosses clothing. It’s a storm of socks.  _ Luckily, they’re clean. This is so much fun! You Hum again, even though Shyren is much better.

 

_ You hum some more. But the constant attention…  _ the Voice sighs, putting on a lamentatious tone.  _ The tours… the groupies… it’s all…  _

 

Shyren toots aggressively, and you get hit for the first time.

 

_ Shyren thinks about her future,  _ the Voice muses. You have an idea of what’s coming, but you Hum again.

 

_ You and Shyren have come so far, but it’s time.  _ The Voice takes a deep, fake-shaky breath. It’s all in good fun, though.  _ You both have your own journeys to embark on. You hum a farewell song.  _

 

Shyren gives a farewell toot, and sings the best song you’ve heard. You get hit twice, but you don’t mind at all. Afterwards, she gets automatically “Spared.”

 

_ YOU WON! You earned 0 EXP and 30 gold.  _ You sure did! That was epic. Finally, you’re back to business.

 

On the wall to your left, there’s a plaque. “The northern room hides a great treasure.” Hey, cool. You decide to check it out. In the room, there’s an old piano and a plaque. “A haunting song echoes down the corridor… Won’t you play along? Only the first 8 are fine.” Hmmm… a puzzle. You walk over to the piano. You see some markings above it, but aren’t sure what they mean. You also don’t know how to play the piano. Maybe you’ll leave this one for later.

 

You keep walking forward from the other room and find that the legend keeps going in more plaques. “This power has no counter. Indeed, a human can’t take a monster’s SOUL. When a monster dies, its SOUL disappears. And an incredible power would be needed to take the SOUL of a living monster.” You wouldn’t want to try, anyway, but that does sound ominous. You read the next one. “There is only one exception. The SOUL of a special species of monster called a ‘Boss Monster.’ A Boss Monster’s SOUL is strong enough to persist after death… If only for a few moments. A human could absorb this SOUL. But this has never happened. And now it never will.” You look down. It seems so stupid and confusing. What a huge amount of strife for nothing. And humans didn’t even know about any of it. You didn’t even know monsters were real. You frown. You want to find a way to fix this. There has to be a way, somehow. 

 

The next room doesn’t help your glum mood. It’s all dark except for a statue of a goat-like creature. A ray of light is shining down on it, and droplets of water are falling on it. The structures at its feet seem dry, but the rest of it is wet. 

 

In the next room, you see a sign and a bucket of something colorful. The sign reads, “Please take one.” You peek in the bucket. It’s a bunch of umbrellas! You take a red one, but suddenly have an idea. You go into the last room and gently place it in the statue’s hands. It fits perfectly. Inside the statue, a music box begins to play. It’s a beautiful song.

 

You notice something above the statue’s head. In foggy clouds, it spells out a pattern. Wait… the pattern from the piano room! Blank, up, right, blank, down, down, right.  _ Only the first 8 are fine.  _ Maybe you repeat the first one.

 

In the piano room, you repeat the pattern, and it actually does play out the melody. As soon as you play the last note, a door opens in the back of the room.

 

A red orb sits on a table, in front of a plaque. You walk up to the legendary artifact, and you’re about to take it, but you’re carrying too many dogs. Uh… wait. Dogs?? You check your pockets. Ah! There’s a dog in your pocket!  _ Annoying Dog — Dog. A little white dog. It’s fast asleep…  _ Awww. Weird, but adorable. Can you… use it?

 

The Voice seems to think so.  _ You deployed the dog.  _ Odd choice of words. The dog hops out of your pocket and… absorbs the artifact. Then it walks out of the room… through the wall. Oh. Um. Okay. You walk back out, return to the umbrella room, and grab another red umbrella. It goes well with your blue and purple shirt. You feel very important carrying it, though you aren’t sure why you need it.

 

You realize it when you enter the next room. Drops of water from the waterfall are falling everywhere. You’re glad your boots are waterproof. You look at your reflection in a puddle and smile. You’re still you.

 

You walk a little more and come across… the Monster Kid! “Yo, you got an umbrella?” Oh gosh, that’s right. They don’t have hands. “Awesome!” They fall in step next to you. “Let’s go!” You have a warm feeling in your chest again. It’s fun to hang out with someone! You decide to call Papyrus and tell him.

 

“HMMM? YOU’RE HANGING OUT WITH A FRIEND?” Yes! That’s it! You’re hanging out with a new friend… a kid just like you! And you didn’t even have to fight them or anything. You usually aren’t great at making friends, but you have way more down here than you ever had at the home. “THEN MAYBE YOU SHOULDN’T TALK TO ME… YOU’LL MAKE THEM JEALOUS!” That’s true, it’s probably rude. He hangs up, and you smile sheepishly at the Monster Kid. They don’t seem to mind, though. They just grin back. 

 

The two of you walk on a bit in silence. You can see the Monster Kid admiring the walls and ceiling. You so the same. It’s really lovely in here. After a while, they speak up.

 

“Man, Undyne is soooooo cool.” Obviously you don’t think the same, but it’d be rude to ignore them. Clearly, Undyne is kind of a hero to them, and why wouldn’t she be? If you were a monster, you’d think she was cool too. So you raise your eyebrows, indicating them to go on. They hop excitedly. “She beats up bad guys and NEVER loses.” Honestly, she does sound pretty cool. You wish she didn’t want to kill you. “If I was a human, I’d wet the bed every night… knowing she was gonna beat me up! Ha ha.” You shiver a little, but they don’t notice. You hope they don’t find out you’re a human. It would be SUPER awkward now. You’ve wet the bed once before. You were super embarrassed, and some of the kids laughed at you in the morning. Teacher and Nurse were really nice about it, though. Some kids did wet the bed a lot, and you felt bad for them. They didn’t have many friends.

 

The two of you walk past a group of water sausages. You wish you were better at talking, or that the Voice could help you. The Monster Kid doesn’t seem to mind, though, and you’re glad. You don’t mind hearing other people talk, but a lot of the kids at the home thought you were weird. Some would talk at you for a while, and you’d nod or shake your head when appropriate. You wouldn’t say you were close, though. It feels different with the Kid, though. They seem like they’d really be friends with you.

 

The Monster Kid pauses near an Echo Flower. “So, one time. We had a school project where we had to take care of a flower.” Oh! Your class hatched chicks once. It was so much fun! “The king—we had to call him “Mr. Dreemurr”—volunteered to donate his own flowers. He ended up coming to school and teaching us about responsibility and stuff.” Wow, the king himself came in? What a cool guy! Papyrus probably wasn’t exaggerating. You’re actually excited to meet him. Sometimes politicians from the city came to the home, but you didn’t like them very much. They only played with the talkative kids. “That got me thinking… YO! How COOL would it be if UNDYNE came to school?!” You nod encouragingly, and they hop up and down. You hope they don’t fall over. “She could beat up ALL the teachers!!” Uh… you’ll pass. You like Teacher. But maybe their teachers aren’t good. You keep walking, and then they speak up again. “Ummm, maybe she wouldn’t beat up the teachers… She’s too cool to ever hurt an innocent person.” You sure hope so. She does sound pretty cool, after all. Even if your source is a bit biased.

 

You walk out into a large, cavernous opening. The crystals on the ceiling glimmer in a cool light. In the distance, a huge castle looms. You pause to look at it, and the Monster Kid runs ahead to look closer. You run after them and look for a long time. It’s beautiful. Is this where the king lives? Guess you’re going there… you can’t get there straight from here, though.

 

You keep walking, and they follow you. In the next room, there’s a bucket to return the umbrellas, but more importantly, there’s a steep ledge. It’s taller than both of you. “Yo, this ledge is way too steep…” You sigh. You thought this was the right way. You’ll have to go back. You’re about to turn around when they call to you. “Yo, you wanna see Undyne, right…?” Not sure when to do, you nod slowly. “Put up your umbrella and climb on my shoulders.”

 

Well, you have to put back your umbrella anyway… and you do have to move on. But what about them? Maybe you can pull them up. You hop on their shoulders and they nudge you up. It’s too high for you to reach back down, though, even on your stomach.

 

“Yo, you go on ahead. Don’t worry about me. I always find a way to get through!” It’s true that you have no idea how they’ve been getting to all these different places, so you’re willing to bet they will. They run off and fall, of course, and then walk away. You feel a bit lonely, so you call Papyrus again.

 

“SEEMS LIKE THE PHONE CONNECTION’S GETTING WEAK…” He cuts off. Uh-oh. What’s coming up? You feel like Undyne is close. You take a deep breath and start walking. 

 

The next room is calm. You feel at peace, even with the knowledge that danger is probably near. You feel your chest swell.

 

_ The serene sound of a distant music box… it fills you with determination. _


	17. Waterfall Part 5: Uh-oh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another bite-size friend! It was when writing this chapter that I realized I named my fallen child Adrian instead of Chara for the first time. Obviously the Chara in this story will still be Chara, it was just kind of funny to me to be expecting one name and then another pops out.
> 
> Please comment!

The room you’re in now has two more plaques in it. You felt like the story had ended a few rooms ago, but you guess there’s more. The first one reads: “The humans, afraid of our power, declared war on us. They attacked suddenly, and without mercy.” The second: “In the end, it could hardly be called a war. United, the humans were too powerful, and us monsters, too weak. Not a single SOUL was taken, and countless monsters were turned to dust…”

 

Up until now, you’d always bristled a bit when monsters spoke disparagingly about humans. But… now you definitely understand. It still seems unfair, because you know _you_ would never do something like that, but you know you have the capacity. And they know too. Sans and Papyrus and Toriel are the only ones who really seem to understand that you’re a human, and it’s actually pretty nice of them to treat you well, considering what humans did to them. Maybe if you can prove you’re good without people knowing you’re a human, you can change people’s minds.

 

The path before you consists of three wooden walkways parallel to each other, with either a reflection or three identical walkways underneath. You start walking, and soon enough, you come into a shadowy area again. You know an Undyne ambush when you see one by now.

 

Suddenly, you hear a droning noise. A circle of blue materializes in front of you. Then another one materializes next to you. And one behind you. And then a whole lot all around you. Then spears shoot out from all of them at the same time.

 

Undyne is beneath you on the other walkway. You start running.

 

Luckily, the circles are a lot easier to dodge than the spears from before. Unluckily, you soon realize that the walkway splits off into a bunch of different directions, and you have no idea where you’re going. You’re running around frantically, trying not to panic, when you realize that the walkway Undyne’s on must have an ending somewhere. You try to follow her path as best you can, despite how counterintuitive it seems, and are relieved when it leads you into a more straightforward area. Finally, you run into a huge square area. The spears begin to increase in speed and number, and you get hit more times than you’re comfortable with. You see the path narrowing and run for it.

 

This is where your wavering luck runs out. You’ve hit a dead end. There isn’t even a walkway below you anymore, just blackness. You take a deep breath and turn around. Maybe you can sneak by her?

 

No such luck. You’ve only walked a few shaky paces when you hear huge, clanking footsteps. Undyne slowly walks towards you, then stops. You hear a droning noise, and before you can so much as run, three spears come hurtling toward you from the ceiling. But… they miss you. Completely. You’re confused until you see that they’ve cut off the section of the bridge you’re standing on. You briefly consider running towards Undyne, but you can’t even begin to bring that plan to fruition before the ground starts shaking and you’re thrust into a world of white. You vaguely see Undyne growing further and further away and barely have time to feel a twinge of terror when you hear a splash and the world goes black.

 

_...you aren’t quite awake… but you aren’t asleep. You can smell something sweet and familiar, but you can’t place it. You’re sluggish. Your knee hurts. You hear a voice. You’ve never heard it before, but you’ve heard it so many times. It’s soft and gentle and cautious. Friendly._

 

_“It sounds like it came from over here…” You try to call out, but you can’t say anything, like a nightmare. “Oh! You’ve fallen down, haven’t you…” You feel a warmth on your shoulder, then around your hand. “Are you okay? Here, get up…” You rise to your feet, but everything is blurry. A part of you is uncomfortable, like you don’t belong in your own skin. You can’t see anything. “...Chara, huh? That’s a nice name.” Something breaks. You can feel pieces tinkling out, and there’s a sharp pain in the front of your head. Everything is too bright and too fast and yet it’s moving too slow. Too much is happening. It’s fading away as you hear “My name is”_

 

This time, you wake up with a huge gasp and immediately start coughing. You inhaled a petal. You’re lying on a bed of golden flowers in a pool of water and broken bits of wooden walkway, and briefly have a bit of deja vu. Your head still hurts. You vaguely remember your… dream-thing. It didn’t feel like a dream. It felt like a memory that you’d never experienced before. Chara. What did that mean? Why did that break it? It’s… not your name. You know that. You’ve never known anyone named Chara. It is a nice name, though. Nicer than yours.

 

...did it have something to do with the Voice? Actually, that’s not a crazy idea, assuming the Voice _is_ a kid who fell down once. But you don’t want to name the Voice without knowing for sure who they are. And who was the person talking? They definitely weren’t the Voice. It did sound like someone young, though. Ugh. It’s just making your head hurt more.

 

Your legs tremble as you finally pick yourself up. The flowers must have broken your fall again, not to mention that you were lucky enough to fall into water. You don’t look up. You don’t want to know how far you fell. Can you call Papyrus? ...Nope, no response.

 

Darn it, the walkway is all broken up. You’ll have to go wading. You close your eyes and take a step. Whoa! It’s a little deeper than you thought. Not too cold, though, and with that weird thick feeling. Still, you get out as soon as you can. ...huh? You’re all dry. Not even any water in your boots. That’s certainly weird, but you aren’t complaining.

 

You hop back into the water and start wading through. As you walk, you notice piles of garbage, with quite a few brands you recognize. Trash, trash, garbage, junk… hmmm. Your persistent garbage habit isn’t showing any signs of payoff. The Voice giggles. Hey, sometimes you can find neat stuff!

 

The next room has a huge waterfall in it. For some reason, you feel your chest swell.

 

_The waterfall here seems to flow from the ceiling of the cavern… occasionally, a piece of trash will flow though… and fall into the bottomless abyss below. Viewing this endless cycle of worthless garbage… It fills you with determination._


	18. Waterfall Part 6: One Crazy Dummy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A fun fact about this chapter is that I switched computers midway through writing it and I guess Steam doesn't carry over your Undertale save data so I had to start the whole thing from the beginning until I got back to this stupid Mad Dummy battle that's annoying to play and incredibly boring to write. (I do also use pacifist playthroughs on YouTube to help, but I like going at my own pace and discovering what my specific Frisk would discover.) So that was great. Although I did get to rename my child Chara. 
> 
> Thank you so much to my lovely commenters, especially the ones who are curious about Chara's role in the story! I'm so glad you like my interpretation of the character. :)

Phew… sometimes those solid moments of determination really carry you through. You always feel better after them. You’re ready to take on the world! One could even call you… determined. The Voice laughs again, more warmly this time. You smile. You hope you hear more of them in the future.

 

The next room has some more garbage, most notably, a rusty bike! You rest your hand on it and its horn wheezes a honk of despair.  _ Wheeee-ooop!  _ You wish you had a bike, even if you have no idea how to ride one. Maybe Sans or Papyrus would teach you. You also find a beat-up desktop computer. Yeesh, this one’s even older than the one in the home! There’s a new-looking cooler as well, with a few bars of freeze-dried space food. That’s pretty cool! You take one and see what the Voice has to say.  _ “Astronaut food.” Heals 21 HP. For feeding a pet astronaut.  _ Haha! You’re pretty sure that’s not what it’s for… or maybe it is. This world is weird. Speaking of which, there’s a DVD case for an anime with desperate claw marks all over it. That’s it! You’d forgotten the name. But you’ve seen a few animes before! All the kids watch  _ Pokemon _ , and sometimes  _ Naruto _ . And something called  _ Fullmental Alchemist _ or something, with the two brothers and the guy who controls fire. That one’s awesome, even if you’re not sure about its name. Do they have anime down here? That would be great.

 

Next, you see a training dummy, like the one you practiced on with Toriel. You walk up to it. You think about beating it up, but decide not to. You just stare into its eyes for a moment… weirdly, it seems to stare back. You walk on.

 

Huh? You thought you heard something. You turn around and look at the dummy. Suddenly, it turns bright orange and gets big, angry cartoon eyes, then disappears into the water and reappears in front of you. Um, quick question—what’s going on?? Jeez, every time you think you have this world down, something else happens.

 

“Hahaha… too intimidated to fight me, huh!?” The dummy(!) sneers. “I am a ghost that lives inside a DUMMY.” Oh… is that supposed to make this make sense? Were you right to be confused? “My cousin used to live inside a DUMMY too. Until… YOU CAME ALONG!” Uh?? What did you do?? You didn’t even hit the dummy! “When you talked to them, they thought they were in for a nice chat… But the things you SAID…! Horrible. Shocking! UNBELIEVABLE! It spooked them right out of their dummy!” ...Honestly, you don’t even remember what you said, but you’re  _ sure  _ it wasn’t that bad. “HUMAN! I’ll scare your SOUL out of your body!” Uh oh. They know you’re a human. And now they’re turning red. And now the battle is starting.

 

_ Mad Dummy blocks the way!  _ The Voice gasps. Dramatically, you assume. You can only Check and Talk, so you Check.  _ MAD DUMMY ATK 30 DEF YES.  _ (YES??)  _ Because they’re a ghost, physical attacks will fail.  _ Well, you never really attack anyway, so that isn’t a huge problem. But that DEF does seem kind of ominous.

 

_ “Pitiful. Pitiful! PITIFUL!”  _ Little dummies pop up around the sides of the box and spit… cotton?... at you. You dodge it pretty easily. But when the dummies spit from the bottom of the box, all of it hits the Mad Dummy!

 

_ “OWWWW, you DUMMIES!!”  _ You and the Voice laugh, but the Dummy doesn’t notice.  _ “Watch where you’re aiming your  _ **_MAGIC_ ** _ attacks!”  _ Oh? Magic? Looks like you’ve got a battle plan. The Dummy seems to have realized this.  _ “... Hey! You! Forget I said anything about  _ **_MAGIC_ ** _!!!” _

 

_ Mad Dummy is looking nervous.  _ You hear the Voice smirking. You decide to Talk.  _ You talk to the Dummy. … It doesn’t seem much for conversation. No one is happy with this.  _

 

_ “I’ll defeat you and take your SOUL!!”  _ All that happens, though, is they get hit with their own cotton again.

 

_ Mad Dummy is hopping mad.  _ You can see that. Looks like you’re just Sparing from here on out.

 

_ “I’ll use your SOUL to cross the barrier!”  _ Right, that’s what Papyrus was talking about. Why can’t you just, like… lend people your SOUL? Oops, now they’re moving around a bit. You’ll have to work harder to guide the cotton into them.

 

_ Mad Dummy glares into a mirror, then turns to you with the same expression,  _ the Voice informs you. Interesting. Spare.

 

_ “I’ll stand in the window of a fancy store!”  _ Agh, these are getting hard to dodge! You’ll have to heal next turn.

 

_ Mad Dummy is bossing around its bullets.  _ You feel like the Voice is rolling their eyes. Mad Dummy does seem like a bit of a micromanager. You decide to eat a Nice Cream.

 

_ You look nice today!  _ The Voice reads the words on the wrapper and giggles.  _ Your HP was maxed out.  _

 

_ “THEN EVERYTHING I WANT WILL BE MINE!!”  _ What exactly does it want? And how will it gain that by standing in a store? You shoot over to the side of the box and manage to guide the cotton into it again.

 

_ Mad Dummy is getting cotton all over the dialogue box,  _ the Voice grumbles. You wince in sympathy. Spare.

 

_ “Huh? Yeah, I guess that’ll avenge my cousin.”  _ You’re not entirely confident that the Mad Dummy knows what it wants. The Voice complains about the cotton again, sounding bored. You Spare again.

 

_ “What was their name again…?”  _ ...maybe “Mad” means “crazy” as well as angry. You’re still getting their own cotton to hit them, but you are getting a bit bored. The Voice doesn’t seem to have anything new to say either, but they are sighing a lot.

 

_ “Whatever. Whatever! WHATEVER!!”  _ This is the weirdest battle you’ve fought yet. You’re still not entirely sure what you did wrong. You hear the Voice grumble. They must be even more bored than you are.

 

_ “Feeble. Feeble! FEEBLE!!”  _ You land a good cotton hit on the Dummy, and it stops moving around.  _ “HEY GUYS!”  _ It calls. A bunch of little dummies pop up around the box.  _ “Dummies. Dummies! DUMMIES! Remember how I said NOT to shoot at me? Well…. FAILURES! YOU’RE FIRED! YOU’RE ALL BEING REPLACED!!!”  _ The Dummy starts flailing wildly. All the little dummies open their eyes wide, then slink away. “ _ Hahaha. Hahaha! HAHAHA! Now you’ll see my true power: relying on people that aren’t garbage!”  _ That seems really mean. They weren’t even trying to aim at the Dummy! It kept moving around.

 

_ Mechanical whirrs fill the air.  _ The Voice sounds more interested now, and so are you. 

 

_ “DUMMY BOTS! MAGIC MISSILE!”  _ A bunch of robotic dummies pop up and shoot homing missiles at you. Oops, these are a lot harder to dodge. You get hit, but learn that you have to shake them off by looping twice. You’re okay.

 

_ Mad Dummy is doing an armless ska dance,  _ the Voice snickers. You aren’t sure what that is, but they seem highly amused by it. Then again, this battle isn’t very fun at all, so you’ll take whatever interesting thing you can get.

 

_ “DUMMY BOTS! TRY AGAIN!”  _ You get hit by about half, but it doesn’t hurt too much, and you manage to guide the other half to hit the Dummy.

 

The Voice laughs about the Dummy’s dance again, apparently pleased with themself. You just Spare again.

 

_ “DUMMY BOTS! You’re awful???”  _ Gosh, the Mad Dummy is really mean! This time, you dodge everything  _ and  _ manage to hit the Dummy. Take that, meanie!

 

The Voice tells you that the Dummy is glaring at you, and you both roll your eyes. (At least, you sense that the Voice did.) 

 

_ “DUMMY BOTS! FINAL ATTACK!”  _ Whew, finally! Oop—this is hard. You avoid some of the shots, but don’t manage to hit the Dummy. And you’re at 2 HP. Darn it.

 

_ “(N… no way!)”  _ The Dummy whispers.  _ “(These guys are even WORSE than the other guys!)”  _ It clears its throat.  _ “Who cares. Who cares! WHO CARES!! I DON’T NEED FRIENDS!!!”  _ It summons… a knife?? Jeez! This Dummy really is Mad! (The Voice laughs.)  _ “I’VE GOT KNIVES!!!”  _ You think friends are better than knives, but whatever. You dodge the knife and get ready for the next, but it doesn’t come.  _ “I’m… Out of knives. BUT IT DOESN’T MATTER!!! YOU CAN’T HURT ME AND I CAN’T HURT YOU! YOU’LL BE STUCK FIGHTING ME… Forever. Forever! FOREVER!!!!”  _ The Dummy is flailing around crazily, losing more and more of its shape. Then it starts laughing maniacally.  _ “AHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAAHAAHAHAHAHAAHAHA…” _

 

Suddenly, just as you’re starting to worry about how you’ll get out of this, something falls from the ceiling and hits it on the head. It looks like little white drops of rain. Hey, that looks familiar! What monster used that attack again…?

 

_ “Wh… what the heck is this?! Ergh! Acid rain!?!”  _ Oh! You’ve read about acid rain. It’s when toxic material in rivers gets evaporated and turns into rain. It’s terrible for the environment…  _ “Oh, FORGET IT! I’m outta here!”  _ And just like that, the Mad Dummy  _ wheeeee-ooooop _ s off the battlefield. What monster do you thank for this?

 

Something huge and white drifts in from the ceiling. It’s… Napstablook! Your ghosty friend! Yes! Thanks, Napstablook!

 

_ “...sorry, i interrupted you, didn’t i?”  _ You barely hear what they’re saying, you’re so relieved.  _ “as soon as i came over, your friend immediately left… oh no…. you guys looked like you were having fun….”  _ Wait, what? No you weren’t! Napstablook’s got the wrong idea!  _ “oh no…. i just wanted to say hi…. oh no………………..”  _ Before you can correct them, the ground comes back and the battlefield vanishes. Napstablook is floating in front of you. “well… i’m going to head home now… oh… um… feel free to ‘come with’ if you like…” Napstablook’s sides ripple a bit to indicate the unnecessary quotation marks. “but no pressure… i understand if you’re busy… it’s fine… no worries…” You want to reassure Napstablook that you like them and want to spend time with them, but don’t want to interrupt them. “just thought i’d offer…” Oh, they’re done. They float back through a hallway, and you decide to follow them. After all, besides it being the only way to go, you want to spend time with them.

 

You catch up with them and they turn around. “hey… my house is up here… in case you want to see… or in case… you don’t…” They float away. Gosh, they have such low self-esteem. 

 

You’re about to follow them when you feel a familiar, welcome swelling in your chest. 

 

_ You feel a calming tranquility. You’re filled with determination... _


	19. Waterfall Part 7: Ghosts and Snails

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New commenters and kudos!! Ahhhh I'm so happy!! I'll try to get stuff out fast for y'all! I know this one's short, but stay tuned!

Exploring a bit before going to Napstablook’s sounds fun. You still love the freedom you have here. It really is an adventure!

 

To the left, you find the small bird you saw earlier. Oh! You’re on the other side of the disproportionately sized gap. So you aren’t too far away from where you were before.

 

Back in the main room, you find a sign. _North: Blook Acres. East: Hotland. ???: Temmie Village._ Interesting. Slightly helpful. You guess East is where you’re supposed to go to continue, but you’re visiting Napstablook first. There are three entrances to the northern area. You decide on the one furthest to the left.

 

This may not have been the best choice. You’re greeted with the Mad Dummy (who, fortunately, looks to be more docile here) and an angry-looking house. Yeah, you didn’t know a house could be angry, but here it is. It looks like a big fish. The front door is its mouth, and it’s downturned and unamused, with a jagged horizontal opening that looks like sharp teeth. Two big oval windows are partially covered with the house’s scaly-looking tiles, making them look angrily scrunched. In fact, by comparison, the Mad Dummy looks pretty harmless.

 

Your intuition seems correct in the case of the Mad Dummy. As you walk up to it, it merely snaps “What. What? WHAT!? It’s a living.” Oof, Dummies have to get beat up for a living? You have a hard time beating up inanimate objects, let alone things that know what’s happening. Ugh. Whoever lives in this house must be pretty hardcore. You’re pretty sure it isn’t Napstablook, at least.

 

The entrance to the right of that one leads to what you presume is Napstablook’s house. Or Napstablook’s and their neighbor’s houses. The houses look sort of like halved beans leaning to the side. One is blue, and one is pink. They both look cozy and whimsical. You try the door to the pink house—it looks like there’s a light on in there—but it’s locked.

 

The other door is open, and you walk right in, sort of without meaning to. The door was kind of insubstantial. A minimalist techno tune is playing, and you find yourself tapping your fingers to the beat. It’s catchy. There’s only one room in the house, and it looks a lot like the rooms the older kids slept in at the home. The walls are sometimes different colors and have cracks in them, there’s cobwebs in most of the corners, some of the floorboards are missing, and everything looks pretty dusty. Now that you think about it, Napstablook reminds you a bit of the quiet older kids. Wait… are they wearing headphones? Lots of the quiet older kids wore headphones. You always wished you had some so you could spend some time alone and not have to listen to anyone.

 

Napstablook hasn’t noticed you yet, but they do when you step forward. “oh… you really came…” They sound equally surprised, happy, and worried. You can relate. “sorry, i… wasn’t expecting that.” Aw. If you’d had their number, you would have called. “it’s not much, but make yourself at home.”

 

You nod and look around. There’s a fridge, a T.V., and a computer, which Napstablook is standing (floating?) in front of. There’s also three book-like things on the floor. You don’t know what they are, so you walk up to one. Looking closer, you realize they’re CDs. Some of the older kids have those, but most of you just listen to the radio or download music. The CD you’re looking at is called “Spooktunes.” You decide not to play it until you have Napstablook’s permission.

 

Next to the CDs is a spider web, which has a flyer for a bake sale on it. You walk over to the fridge.

 

“oh… are you hungry…” Well, you’re not really, you kind of just wanted to see the fridge. “i can get you something to eat…” They float over, and you move out of their way. They stand (hover?) in front of the fridge for a moment, then turn back to you. “this is a ghost sandwich… do you want to try it...” You can barely see anything, but you think it’d be rude to refuse. You nod and attempt to bite into it, but phase right through it. “oh… nevermind…” You feel bad, but aren’t really sure what you expected to happen.

 

They just float there. You’re not sure what to do. Finally, they say something. “after a great meal i like to lie on the ground and feel like garbage…” ...oh? You hope that’s literal and not symbolic. Napstablook isn’t garbage! But actual garbage… um… maybe that’s less bad? You aren’t sure. And you aren’t sure how to convince them they’re not garbage. They’ve already moved on. “it’s a family tradition…” Oh. That… feels even worse. You’d like to have any family tradition at all, even if it was just lying on the ground and feeling like garbage. You’d… like to have a family. But you feel rude for not paying attention to Napstablook. “do you want… ...to join me…” You nod and smile. “okay… follow my lead…”

 

The two of you lie down. The floor is a bit hard, but it feels good to get off your feet and stretch out. “here we go… you’ll lie down as long as you don’t move. so… only move around when you want to get up, i guess.” You’re a little confused by that. Maybe they mean symbolically lying down?

 

At first, nothing happens, and you feel a little weird. Then, slowly, the techno-music begins to fade out. You hear a comforting, melodious tone, like something to fall asleep to. You close your eyes, and all you see are stars. Once, your class got to go to a planetarium. It looked like all the stars and planets were right next to you. That’s how you feel now, but they’re under you too, and all around. You wish you could just fall asleep here.

 

After a while, though, you get antsy. You need to continue your adventure and look at the rest of Napstablook’s house. You shake your leg, and suddenly everything returns to normal. You get up, and it’s almost like it never happened. Napstablook gets up as well.

 

“well, that was nice… thank you…”

 

You walk over to the T.V. “oh… that’s my tv… there’s a show i like to watch on it… sometimes…” You wonder if it’s the same show Papyrus watches. You peek at the computer, and it’s opened to a music-sharing forum. Hm, maybe Napstablook is a musician! They might do electronic music, the kind with no words and lots of crazy instruments. That’s cool.

 

Finally, you go back to the CDs. First, you play “Spooktunes.” Aw! It’s cute and kinda spooky at the same time. It reminds you of that old show you used to watch with the creepy family. They had a really catchy theme song, but that’s about all you remember from it. The little boy had a shirt kind of like yours, though.

 

“oh… a classic spooktune… they don’t make songs like this anymore…” You nod sympathetically.

 

The second CD is called “Spookwave.” It’s the same melody as the first, but with an echoey… reverb? Is that the word? It’s just kind of… floatier.

 

“dang… that ambience… it’s like my whole body is being spooked…” Napstablook seems to really like music. They seem a lot more animated now.

 

The third CD is kind of weird. It’s called “Ghouliday Music,” and it’s just a bunch of “whoops” and “whoos” mixed together. You liked the first one best.

 

“oh, this one… once you learn the lyrics it’s hard not to sing along. Um… oh? Lyrics? “ooo ooo oooo/ ooo ooo oooo/ oo oo ooo oo ooo.” Oh. Those lyrics. It’ll take a while for you to learn them.

 

You turn on the first CD again, wave to Napstablook, and leave. As you’re walking back to the main room, you’re surprised to feel the ground fall away. You haven’t had an encounter here yet. It’s Aaron and Woshua, but they don’t say anything. Strangely, the Voice is silent. Also, the music is still playing. Then, the two of them get weird expressions.

 

 _“...what the HECK is that music?”_ Woshua asks.

 

 _“I-I DUNNO DUDE BUT IT’S SPOOKIN ME OUT ;)”_ Aaron replies. Wait, why is he still winking? That’s weird.

 

 _“...this is worse than Shyren.”_ Hey, what the heck does Woshua think he’s saying about your bandmate?!

 

 _“No way, Shyren is way less scary ;)”_ Another wink. What’s with him?

 

 _“...if you’re so scared, why do you keep winking?”_ Thank you, Woshua!

 

 _“THESE ARE WINKS OF FEAR ;)”_ Okay, you’re about to crack up. Aaron’s expression is hilarious.

 

 _“Forget it. This beat is too… filthy.”_ Woshua leaves the battleground.

 

 _“Wosh! Wait! Don’t leave me ;)”_ It’s so hard to take Aaron seriously. _“Is this creepy music my punishment for being creepy? ;)”_ It is pretty annoying to Flex three times whenever you see Aaron. And he’s so cocky. _“Please… stop… I’ll never creep again ;)”_ And, yet, he’s still winking. _“Wahhhh!!! ;)”_

 

You’re back on your feet. You kind of miss the Voice, but you understand that they wouldn’t really have had anything to contribute to that situation.

 

You go through the last entrance to find some kind of… farm? Napstablook materializes, so you walk up to them. “awkward… i’m working right now…” They blink. “i mean… welcome to blook family snail farm…” Snails? You didn’t really expect snails and ghosts to be associated. Also, you didn’t know Napstablook had a family. Maybe they live in the pink house. “...yeah. i’m the only employee. this place used to get a lot of business… but our main customer disappeared one day… now it’s just some hairy guy that shows up once a month…” Hmmm, didn’t Toriel have a bucket of snails in her room? And a book about snails? She would like it here.

 

Behind Napstablook are a few different snails. You walk up to one. It looks like it’s counting dollar bills. That’s… typical of the Underground, you guess, but not really typical of any other place you’ve ever seen. Another one looks like an entire person under a tiny snail shell. “I’ve been long overdue for a second house,” it tells you glumly. You nod, but you can’t really relate. Another one says something in snail language, but the Voice translates it for you. You’re glad they’re apparently prolific in snail. “Snail snail… ( _A long journey extends in front of you_ …) Snail snail… ( _Reach far and stretch beyond the horizons._ ) Snail snail. ( _So Snaileth Sam Byool._ )” The word “snail” has lost all meaning to you. You look at the last snail for a moment. For some reason, you wonder what it tastes like. Isn’t snail a dish in France? Also, Toriel said she would make snail pie. Which, as much as you love Toriel, sounded pretty gross.

 

The right side of the room has what looks like a snail racetrack. Seems a bit mean. You talk to Napstablook. “do you want to play a game? it’s called thundersnail. the snails will race, and if the yellow snail wins, you win. it’s 10g to play.” You can’t help but notice that Napstablook seems more enthusiastic about this than anything else they’ve ever talked about. Unfortunately, you also can’t help but remember an episode of a cartoon you watched once where there was a snail race. The snails all looked really upset and one almost died. You can’t risk having that happen. You shake your head. “oh……..” You feel bad, but you’d feel worse for a tired snail.

 

You walk back into the main room. You’re pretty sure that’s all there is for this area, so you decide to move on to the East, to Hotland. And probably another encounter with Undyne. But before you can leave, you feel your chest start to swell again.

 

_You feel a calming tranquility. You’re filled with determination…_


	20. Waterfall Part 8: A Part of History

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long!! It's not even that good! I had a 10 hour shift today! Thank you for being good and constant commenters!!

The next room has a Box in it, which is nice. You realize that the Annoying Dog left something called… “Dog Residue” in your pocket. You ask the Voice for help—symbolically, because you aren’t exactly sure what calls them. Usually it’s battling and examining stuff. You wish you could just summon them to chat with.

 

_ “Dog Residue”—Dog Item. Dirty dishes left unwashed by a dog.  _ That’s interesting and nonsensical. You put it in the Box, which is just about full. You hope you can find some place to sell stuff soon. You don’t want to be an item abandoner. That would be unfair to the quiche.

 

There’s also a doorway leading north, which you decide to explore. Oh! It’s a shop! A grizzled old turtle-monster greets you. “Woah there! I’ve got some neat junk for sale.” You giggle. Junk is the last thing you need right now, but you’ll look around anyway. Or you’ll talk to the shopkeeper. He looks very grandfatherly. His face is crinkled with laugh lines and his one open eye has a mischievous glint in it. He’s dressed like an archaeologist.

 

You push an item on the counter and look at him questioningly. If he won’t take it, maybe he at least knows where you can sell it.

 

“Ha! I’m tryin’ to get RID of my junk, not get more of it! Though, I’ve heard if you want to sell stuff, the Temmie Village is your best bet.” Great! You’ll make sure to stop there. You point behind you and raise your eyebrows. “Where is it?” He blinks. “...I don’t remember.” You sigh. How do you forget where a  _ village  _ is? Oh well. You’ll poke around.

 

“Don’t be shy now.” The shopkeeper smiles at you. You smile back, and you must look like you want to say something. “Anything you wanna know?” You point at him. Hands are useful when you don’t like to talk. Good thing the Monster Kid loves to talk.

 

“I’ve been around a long time. Maybe too long. Studying history sure is easy when you’ve lived through so much of it yourself! Wa ha ha!” You laugh as well. He sounds really nice. 

 

You point upwards at a strange emblem on the heading to his shop. He cocks his head to the side. “Eh? You don’t know what that is?” You shake your head. “What are they teaching you kids in school nowadays…? Wa ha ha! That’s the  **Delta Rune** , the emblem of our kingdom. The Kingdom… of Monsters. Wahaha! Great name, huh? It’s as I always say… Ol’ King Fluffybuns can’t name for beans!” King  _ Fluffybuns?  _ That definitely sounds like the king Papyrus and the Monster Kid were talking about. You doubt that’s really his name, but then again, you never know down here. You lean forward and look interested, hoping he’ll tell you more.

 

He does. “That emblem actually predates written history.” You actually kind of assumed everything here was really old. You’re not sure why. “The original meaning has been lost to time… All we know is that the triangles symbolize us monsters below, and the winged circle above symbolizes… Somethin' else. Most people say it's the 'angel,' from the prophecy…” Oh, great. More things you should know but don’t. You lean even more forward, trying to look as interested as you are. You hope you aren’t reflecting too badly on the schools in the Underground.

 

The shopkeeper seems more than happy to explain, though. “Oh yeah... The prophecy. Legend has it, an 'angel' who has seen the surface will descend from above and bring us freedom. Lately, the people have been taking a bleaker outlook… Callin' that circle the 'Angel of Death.' A harbinger of destruction, waitin' to 'free' us from this mortal realm…” Oh! That’s… pretty dark for what you’ve seen so far. Most people here seem really happy. Only the old myths sound sad like that. Well… they’re not myths, though. They’re true. He goes on, and you worry he’ll say something about getting to the surface. “In my opinion, when I see that little circle… I jus' think it looks neat! Wahaha!” You laugh with him. He’s great to talk to!

 

You wonder if he knows about the King. You point to a crown-shaped icon near his counter. Luckily, your point gets across. Someday, you might have to talk to someone. But today isn’t that day. “King Fluffybuns? He's a friendly, happy-go-lucky kind of guy… If you keep walking around long enough, you'll probably meet him.” You’re pretty excited to meet him, actually. Everyone you’ve talked to has had something good to say about him. “He loves to walk around and talk to people.” That’s so nice! Kings who really care about their people are the best. But… is his name really “Fluffybuns?” The turtle catches you looking confused. “Eh? Why do I call Dreemurr 'Fluffybuns?' Oh, that's a great story! … I don't remember it. But if you come back much later, I'm sure I'll have remembered by then.” So his name is “King Dreemurr,” apparently. That’s what Papyrus and Monster Kid both said. Maybe you’ll come back after you meet him. You have a feeling that won’t be for a while.

 

You have one last question. You raise your arm up like you’re holding a spear, then pretend to throw it. He gets your drift. “Undyne? Yeah, she's a local hero around here.” So you’ve gathered. “Through grit and determination alone, she fought her way to the top of the Royal Guard.” Hmmm… determination, huh? Maybe you have something in common. You doubt she’d want to hear it, though. Especially seeing as she just honestly tried to kill you. “Actually, she just came through here asking about someone who looked just like you…” Your eyes widen, but you look down so he doesn’t see. Does he know you’re a human? He doesn’t seem to, but you’re never sure. “I'd watch your back, kid. And buy some items… It might just save your hide! Wa ha ha!” Well, he seems… unbothered. 

 

After everything he’s said, you feel bad not buying anything. You decide to look at his wares. “What are you lookin for?” You’re not sure exactly. He has a Crab Apple and Sea Tea, which look interesting, but you don’t really have room for them. Then he has a pair of glasses and a notebook, and you feel an uncomfortable twinge in your stomach. The glasses are really small, and the notebook looks like something you used in class. These… probably belonged to another kid. You tell yourself the shopkeeper just found them lying around.

 

The Voice chimes in to offer you some respite.  _ Cloudy Glasses. Armor: 5DF. Invincible longer. Torn Notebook. Weapon: 2AT. Invincible longer.  _ You think the Dusty Tutu is actually a better armor, but you actually might buy the notebook. You won’t use it as a weapon, but longer “mercy invincibility” (you’ve noticed you can’t get hit immediately after being hit) would be helpful. You buy it for 55G, which brings you down to 280G. “Thanks! Wa ha ha.” 

 

You wave to the shopkeeper. “Be careful out there, kid!” You smile back.

 

Once you’re outside, you examine the notebook more closely.  _ Full of illegible scrawls. Increases INV by 6.  _ You wonder who owned this notebook… and the glasses. Probably a smart kid. And the other one was probably a dancer. You feel that strange sensation in your heart and try to stop thinking about it. Instead, you equip the Torn Notebook. You have to put down your old Stick to do that, but you wonder what the Voice has to say about your Stick before you put it in the Box.  _ Its bark is worse than its bite.  _ Haha! They do love puns.

 

Unfortunately, the Box is full. You walk down before you go right again. Maybe you’ll find the Temmie Village. Nope… nothing down here but a river. You move on to the east.

 

The next room has a few Echo Flowers that you can’t reach and a few shiny particles of… something drifting through the air. They remind you of snow, but there’s too few of them. There’s also several plaques on the wall. Jeez, the story is  _ still  _ going? This must have been a pretty bad war. Well, obviously… it changed the entire way of life for all monsters. You read it.  _ Hurt, beaten, and fearful for our lives, we surrendered to the humans. Seven of their greatest magicians sealed us underground with a magic spell.  _ Um, excuse you? Hold up? Humans have magicians? Or…  _ had  _ magicians? This did take place a really long time ago. Maybe you used to. That would make sense. Still, even though the story is sad, that part is a little cool. Maybe.  _ Anything can enter through the seal, but only beings with a powerful SOUL can leave.  _

 

The next one is interesting.  _ There is only one way to reverse this spell. If a huge power, equivalent to seven human SOULs, attacks the barrier… It will be destroyed.  _ Wait… so if you’d brought some of the other kids with you… could you have shattered the barrier? Once you get out, can you do that? You’ll bring your friends and shatter the barrier! Or… people willing to go with you. Someone has to!

 

The next one makes you confused, sad, hopeful, and something you can’t name yet.  _ But this cursed place has no entrances or exits.  _ For the first time, there’s some kind of emotion behind the words. “Cursed” is an opinionated adjective. You can almost hear the storyteller’s voice breaking.  _ There is no way a human could come here.  _ But… you’re here now! And other humans came in the past… does everyone just keep that a secret? Or was this story not updated? Or… are the humans alive somewhere? Or maybe their SOULs are!  _ We will remain trapped down here forever.  _

 

That’s the last of the plaques, and you feel like it actually is the end of the story this time. You feel something strong in your chest. It’s not quite as strong as the swellings that come every once in a while. But it feels warmer and softer, like it’s coming from a place of emotion rather than power. You’re determined… to help the monsters.

 

Continuing to wade through the thick, quick-drying water, you’re about to reach the next room when the ground falls away.  _ Special enemy Temmie appears here to defeat you!!  _ The Voice startles you. They sound happier and more chipper than they ever have before. The “Temmie” looks like some kind of sickeningly adorable flying cat-dog hybrid with a mop of black hair. You feel like you’re experiencing a mood whiplash. Wait a minute, aren’t you looking for Temmie Village? Maybe you’re close!

 

You Check Temmie.  _ TEMMIE — RATED TEM OUTTA TEM.  _ Gosh, the Voice is really having fun with this!  _ Loves to pet humans. But you’re allergic!  _ Oh, crap! You’re allergic to some kinds of animal hair. You didn’t think they’d apply down here! You almost forgot. There aren’t any pets at the home, so it isn’t usually a problem. You’re glad the Voice reminded you, even though you have no idea how they knew.

 

Temmie says something you don’t understand, like  _ fhsdhjfdsfjsddshjfsd.  _ Then she attacks by trapping your SOUL under a weird version of her body and running it against the wall.

 

_ Temmie is doing her hairs.  _ You’re so amused by this new side of the Voice. Usually they’re sarcastic and quippy, but they seem really goofy here. Your other ACT options are Talk, Flex, and Feed Temmie Flakes. You’re sick of Flexing and you don’t have any Temmie Flakes. You decide to Talk. 

 

_ You say hello to Temmie.  _ You wave, a little disappointed that the Voice seems normal again. Temmie flips on her back and her eyes turn into X’s. Uh-oh. Did you hurt her? No, she’s talking.  _ “hOI!!!!!! i'm tEMMIE!!”  _ She uses her attack again, and this time you move slower so she won’t trap you against the wall.

 

_ Temmie forgot her other attack.  _ The Voice sounds sympathetic, but also a bit silly still. Temmie’s name is yellow now, so you Spare. 

 

_ YOU WON! You earned 0 EXP and 0 gold.  _ Ouch. That hasn’t happened in a while.

 

The next room is dark, with little illuminated paths of bluish grass. The path leads to one of those glowing mushrooms, but it isn’t lit up. You touch it and it reveals another path. Okay, seems simple enough. You repeat the process with the next glowing mushroom, and suddenly you fall into a battle.

 

_ You run into Moldsmal,  _ the Voice admonishes you. Well, it’s not your fault! You can’t see monsters before they battle you. You Spare, but it only works on one. Huh. 

 

The non-Spared Moldsmal doesn’t say anything and sends one tiny dot out.  _ Smells like a bait shop,  _ the Voice comments. Why are they always talking about smell? Your ACT options are Check, Flirt, and Imitate. Hmmm. Interesting. You Check.

 

_ MOLDSMAL…?  _ They sound very unconvinced.  _ ATK 6 DEF 0. It’s a slime mold…?  _ You’ve never seen the Voice not be sure about something before. What’s with this Moldsmal?

 

They don’t talk and barely attack again.  _ Moldsmal sits motionless.  _ You guess it’s hard to commentate on a battle where nothing is happening. You Imitate to let Moldsmal know how this feels!

 

_ You approach Moldsmal. Suddenly…!  _ The Voice sounds as surprised as you are.  _ “Guooohhh!”  _ Moldsmal rises up into some sort of standing-up snake-jelly thing. And they’re actually attacking. With things that look like round cacti blowing bubbles at you. You have no idea what to do.

 

The Voice comments on the smell again, and you’re honestly over it. You know it smells like a bait shop. You can smell. Oh… it’s called Moldbygg now, and your ACT options are different. You can Lie Down, Hug, and Unhug. Um… you like hugs! But, um… you still want to Imitate them, so you Lie Down.

 

_ You lie down. Moldbygg lies down too. Moldbygg understands life now.  _ Life is all about lying down. The Voice gets it. 

 

_ “Roar.”  _ Moldbygg calls dots together, then releases them in a big rising dot. You get hit once. Oof.

 

_ Moldbygg gyrates reservedly.  _ That’s… weird. You can’t Spare them, so you decide to Hug. 

 

_ You hug Moldbygg. Gross slime covers you. Your SPEED decreased.  _ “Gross” is an opinionated adjective… at least, usually. It’s hard to think of anyone who wouldn’t call this slime “gross,” and you’re covered in it. Ugh. 

 

Moldbygg makes slime sounds and uses their cactus attack. You’re unscathed.

 

_ Moldbygg mills about in the corner.  _ You can tell when the Voice is getting bored. You can still feel their personality, but there’s no fun behind it. You Unhug, whatever that is.

 

_ You don’t hug Moldbygg. It appreciates your respect for its boundaries.  _ Hey, that’s a good point. You should ask before hugging someone. 

 

_ Moldbygg seems comfortable with your presence.  _ Good. You and the Voice are both tired of this fight. You Spare.

 

_ YOU WON! You earned 0 EXP and 20 gold.  _ At least you got something out of it this time.

 

You’re walking along the path, which is leading north, when you suddenly feel an overwhelming urge to go south, even though there’s no path there. But you can walk there! Is it a secret?

 

You hear a strange chorus of “doos” and “bums” sung in high and low tones. You feel it. You’re in Temmie village. It’s adorable.

 

Your chest swells, and though you don’t know why, you don’t question it.

 

_ You feel… something. You’re filled with detemmienation. _

 


	21. Waterfall Part 9: TEM INTERLUDE!!!

Gosh! Temmie Village! Finally, a place where you can sell stuff! And boy, does this place look interesting besides that.

 

There are Temmies all over the place, some artwork on the wall, something that looks like an opening to a shop, and some kind of mushroom thing. There are also a few signs that look much more poorly-written than what you’ve seen so far.

 

The first sign reads: _hOI!! welcom to… TEM VILLAGE!!!_ Hm. Temmies don’t appear to be the most literate of monsters. You talk to the group of Temmies standing next to the sign.

 

“hOI!! im temmie!!! and dis is my friend… temmie!!!” Doesn’t that get confusing? Some kids in the home had the same name, and that got annoying sometimes. No one in the home had your name. You have a pretty unique name. You talk to the next Temmie.

 

“hOI!! im temmie!!! and dis is my friend… temmie!!!” How… how do they tell each other apart? You talk to the next one. If they say the exact same thing, you’re giving up.

 

“hOI!! im temmie!!! don forget my friend!” Okay, that wasn’t the _exact_ same thing, and it would be rude to talk to all of them except one. You move on to the next one—

 

“Hi. I’m Bob.” ...You should be expecting this at this point in the Underground, but you still aren’t used to it. All the other Temmies have super-squeaky voices that seem to fit the rest of their personality and appearance. This one has a deeper voice. It’s also named Bob. Well, everyone has quirks.

 

You read the next sign. “hOI!! u shud check out… TEM SHOP!!!” Haha, you plan to! But what’s this painting on the wall?

 

The painting depicts what appears to be a white Temmie next to a black dragon-like creature that’s dwarfed by the Temmie. The caption reads “Rich history of Tem.” This just keeps getting better, doesn’t it? You read the other sign, and you’re further amused: “yaYA!! i AGREES!! shud check… TEM SHOP!!!” You’ll get there, you’ll get there!

 

A Temmie surprises you as you’re reading the sign. “awawawawah!! humans… such a… CUTE!!!!” There’s, um, a lot to unpack there. For one thing, this Temmie—or all Temmies, maybe—understand that you’re a human. Secondly, it’s very strange to be called “cute” by something you regard as equally cute. You ponder the meaning of this strange standard.

 

A huge statue of a Temmie labeled Tem is apparently “very famus. VERY!!!!!!!!” Next to it, there’s a small crack in the wall. There’s a feeling of being watched. You move on.

 

There’s a cute little blue-spotted mushroom near the statue. It has teensy eyes and a little mouth. You tap it lightly, and it grows arms, sways, and starts to dance! “Mushroom dance/Mushroom dance/Whatever could it mean”

 

OH. Its cap slides back to reveal huge, deep, weary eyes. Those dots were its nose. You were very much not expecting that at all. You don’t like this. “It symbolizes my inner torment, trapped here by my hyphae. My struggle to pull away. My struggle to escape. But alas, to no avail.” It shoves its cap back down. You back away. That was highly unnerving.

 

A Temmie near the corner starts talking. “p… tem heard human allergics to tem…” Uh, where’d they hear that? Can everyone hear the Voice? And if so… why is Temmie the only one who mentioned it? “dat OK… tem understan…” Well, at least they’re nice about it. “tem… ALSO allergic to tem!!!” Um… how does that work exactly? Your question is swiftly answered by a multitude of hives popping up on the Temmie’s face. Ahhh! You didn’t mean to do that!! “hOIVS!” She squeaks. Again, you back away, almost stepping on an egg. You hope you make it to the shop without breaking anything.

 

The Temmie watching the egg speaks up. “tem… WATCH EGG!!! eg… wil HATCH!!! tem… PROUD PARENT!!!” You glance at the egg again. It’s hard-boiled.

 

...well, time to go to the Tem shop!

 

Oh, yay! The Temmie shopkeeper has a striped shirt like yours! That’s always welcome. “hOI! welcom to… da TEM SHOP!!!” You immediately start rifling through your pockets, and the Voice lets you know what everything is worth. Whoa! Your Bandage and Stick are worth 150G each! But… you don’t really want to sell them. You go to the Box and see if there’s anything else you can sell without feeling bad. “bOI!!!” The Temmie calls.

 

You decide to sell the Tough Glove and the Toy Knife. You don’t like weapons, and those are very clearly weapons. You start to push forward the Toy Knife, and Temmie’s eyes bug out.

 

“WOA!! u gota… Toy Knifes!!!” Yes… you certainly do. “hnnn… i gota have dat Toy Knifes… but i gota pay for colleg,” Oh! The older kids were always talking to Teacher about college. It’s a kind of school for grown-ups. Wait, Temmie’s a grown-up? And isn’t college for really, um, smart people? Also, there’s college in the Underground? “hnnnn….!!! tem always wanna Toy Knifes…! tem but Toy Knife for… 101G!!!” Can you drive up the price? You shake your head vigorously. “b.. but… p!!!!!!!!!” Aw, you can’t say no to that! You sell it for 128G and sell the Tough Glove (much more easily) for 50G. You hope their old owners can get them back. It shouldn’t be too hard. Temmie looks like she’ll take care of them.

 

You aren’t looking to buy anything, and Temmie pretty much just says “hOI!! im TEMMIE” or “yaYA!! go to TEM SHOP!!” to all your gestures, so you wave to Temmie and head out.

 

You’re just about ready to leave this place, but before you can, your chest swells. You have to admit, you’re taken off guard.

 

_You feel… something. You’re filled with detemmienation._


	22. Waterfall Part 10: The Final Stretch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaahhh this chapter was super fun to write! Tons of plot, character development for Frisk, and not too much game dialogue to painstakingly copy down! I'm so excited to write the next chapter! And thanks again to my commenters!

Leaving Temmie Village feels almost as weird as falling into the Underground in the first place. The contrast is jarring. You wander among the mushrooms some more. It looks like you have to turn off some, then go back and turn them on. You’re kind of just guessing, and you’re getting impatient. You don’t need this in your life right now. You have a feeling something exciting is about to happen, and you can feel your determination building.

 

You finally figure out that you have to double back once all the mushrooms are turned on, but your problems aren’t over. The next room is very dark, with lanterns set up next to the path. There is a plaque next to the first one, which reads _Without candles or magic to guide them Home, the monsters used crystals to navigate._ As you’re reading, the room grows darker and darker. Glowing purple crystals appear outside the path, but soon those fade too and you’re left in pitch blackness. You grope around until you find the lantern. As you tap it, the room fills with light again, but quickly begins to darken. You try to memorize the positions of the other lanterns, tap the first one again, and start walking.

 

Aaaand you’ve already made a wrong turn. Great. Eventually, though, you make your way through. You exit the room into a darkened, flooded corridor. You feel cold. As you start wading through the water, the room gets darker and darker, but there are no lanterns here. You keep going forward until you make it onto dry land, and you find yourself in front of an Echo Flower. You tap it, and a grating, icy female voice slowly answers.

 

“Behind  you.”

 

You gasp and jump away, then become acutely aware of the feeling of being watched. And not by a Temmie. No fair… you’re taken off guard. But there’s no time to ponder that. You’re shaking pretty hard. You try to take a breath without hiccuping, fail, and slowly turn around.

 

Undyne is standing directly in front of you, glaring down at you with glowing yellow eyes. She’s even taller than Papyrus. You feel a chill go through your entire body. You’ve been able to defeat every monster you’ve faced, but none of them have _actually_ wanted to hurt you yet, except maybe the Mad Dummy, and you know they weren’t very powerful. Papyrus was difficult, but he was holding back. This is Papyrus’s _boss,_ and she’s _very_ angry. But you still don’t want to hurt her. How are you going to get out of this?

 

She takes a step forward, slowly and deliberately. Then another step. Then, she starts to speak. You’re taken aback. She hasn’t talked before… why now? Maybe you can reason with her.

 

“Seven. Seven human souls.” Does… does she _need_ that many, or is that how many she has? “With the power of seven human souls, our king… **King ASGORE Dreemurr…** will become a god.”

 

Wait. Wait. Back up. Hold the phone. Record scratch. King… ASGORE Dreemurr? Fluffy, kindly King Dreemurr is the ASGORE Toriel warned you about? You feel the icy feeling in your chest slip down to your feet and root you to the ground. It seems the room just got a lot darker. What… what are you supposed to do? How will you get home?

 

...you want Toriel. Or Papyrus. Or _someone._ You’re scared. And Undyne isn’t helping.

 

“With that power, **ASGORE** can finally shatter the barrier. He will finally take the surface back from humanity… And give them back the suffering and pain that we have endured.” But… you want to help monsters. What… how can you do that? Do all monsters really hate humans that much? They don’t even know what humans _look_ like! They’ve all been perfectly kind to you… except Undyne. Is this what most monsters are like? No... no way. Monsters are good. And why would Papyrus look up to Undyne that much if she was so angry and hateful? And how can someone as nice as King Dreemurr want to bring suffering and pain upon so many people? Something strange is happening here. You’ve got to find out what’s going on. Assuming, of course, Undyne doesn’t kill you.

 

She pauses. “Understand, human?” Um… no, you don’t really. “This is your only chance at redemption.” Redemption? What the heck have you done wrong?! You haven’t hurt a single person. You’re just trying to get home! No one else had a problem with that! “Give up your soul… Or I’ll tear it from your body.” Your eyes widen. Is… is that what “using the SOULs to shatter the barrier” means? Ripping them away from people? From kids like you who came here by accident? You clench your fists. You’ll try to help however you can, but you won’t give up your SOUL. Especially not to a _jerk._

 

Undyne bends her knees and draws a spear out of thin air. She points it towards you, takes a step, and pauses. You realize she’s aiming. Well, you can prepare as well. You straighten your tutu and scrunch up your eyebrows.

 

She rushes toward you, the tip of her spear inches from your chest. The ground begins to fall away, and your heart starts beating faster. Suddenly, though, you hear a sound of rushing from a patch of grass to your right.

 

Out stumbles the Monster Kid with a huge grin on their face. Relief—and a little bit of worry—washes over you. “Undyne!!!” They shout happily. “I’ll help you fight!!!” Your heart drops, but then they turn and look at you. Then they turn back to Undyne, then back to you. Then… they smile wider. “YO!!!! You did it!!! Undyne is RIGHT in front of you!!!” You… couldn’t say anything even if you wanted to. You look at the Monster Kid helplessly. At least you know Undyne won’t hurt them. “You’ve got front row seats to her fight!!!” Oh… you sure do. Right in the splash zone. They look from you to her and back again. Their smile falters a little. “...wait. Who’s she fighting???”

 

Suddenly, Undyne grabs the kid by their ear and drags them away. It doesn’t look painful, though, just forceful. “H-hey!” The kid protests. “You aren’t gonna tell my parents about this, are you?”

 

You’re left alone. You’re still sweating like crazy, but now you feel more prepared. The next time you see her… you’re going to have to fight her. You need a plan.

 

You walk back through the water and notice a path that you don’t think was there before. It leads north, into a room full of glittering sparks and Echo Flowers. You touch the first, and you’re delighted to hear the rest of the conversation you heard much earlier. “...hmmm… if I say my wish… You promise you won’t laugh at me?” The next one says, “Of course I won’t laugh!”

 

There’s only a few left now. “Someday, I’d like to climb the mountain we’re all buried under. Standing under the sky, looking at the world all around… That’s my wish.” You blink, then shake your head. You quickly move to the next one and hear laughter. You can’t help but smile. After all that, they laughed! “...hey, you said you wouldn’t laugh at it!” You would be mad, but there’s something warm in the laughter. The last one says: “Sorry, it’s just funny… That’s my wish, too.”

 

Your chest feels tight, and you realize you’re crying a bit. You wipe your eyes on your sleeve. There’s one last plaque in here, too. It’s _still_ the myth!! _However, there is a prophecy. The Angel… The One Who Has Seen The Surface… They will return. And the Underground will go empty._ You remember Gerson’s story about the prophecy… that the Angel would purge the Underground one way or another. That actually is a pretty vague prophecy. Is that why people are scared of humans? It’s all too confusing. There’s more to this story.

 

The next room leads into a narrow wooden bridge over a deep cavern filled with stalactites and stalagmites. (You feel smug knowing that “stalactites” are the ones on the ceiling.) This would not be a good place to meet Undyne. You try to hurry, but you don’t want to go too fast. There’s no railing.

 

You’re almost to the end when you hear a small voice. “Yo!” Oh… it’s just the Monster Kid. They sound… different. You turn around. They’re standing a ways down the bridge. They walk towards you slowly, then pick up the pace. You’re standing face to face with them.

 

“Yo, I know I’m not supposed to be here, but…” Their face looks strange. Like a mixture of confusion, fear, sadness, and curiosity. “I wanna ask you something.” They stare right at you. You feel guilty for some reason. “...Man, I’ve never had to ask anyone this before…” You have a feeling of what’s coming. They shift their feet. “Umm… Yo… You’re human, right? Haha.” Your mouth is really dry, and your eyes feel kind of weird too. They’re regarding you with that strange expression in their eyes. But… there’s a glint in there too. You give a tiny, single nod.

 

Their eyes widen and they laugh nervously. “Man! I knew it!” Even if you didn’t know they were lying, their shaky voice would have given it away. “...well, I know it now, I mean…” You crack a tiny smile, and they laugh once. “Undyne told me, um, ‘stay away from that human.’” Behind the words, you hear something like awe and incredulity in their voice. That must have been a heck of a conversation. “So, like, um… I guess that makes us enemies or something.” They kick at the ground. You look away. Nobody seems happy with this. Then, they grin. “But I kinda stink at that, haha.” You have to laugh, and they smile wider. Then it fades. “Yo, say something mean so I can hate you?” Uh? What are you supposed to do? You hate talking! And you _especially_ hate saying mean stuff! Voice! Help! “Please?” You shake your head vigorously. You wish they’d just walk away. You don’t have to fight.

 

They frown. “Yo, what? So I have to do it? Here goes nothing…” They take a deep breath. You brace yourself, even though they definitely couldn’t say anything to make you hate them. You actually like them a lot. More than you realized. “Yo, I… I hate your guts.” To your surprise, it stings a little bit. But they’re so insincere it fades in an instant. “...Man, I… I’m such a turd.” Aw! You would laugh if they didn’t look so dejected. “I’m… I’m gonna go home now.”

 

They start walking away, and you suddenly remember what’s happened every other time they’ve left… and now you’re on a bridge. You start to shout, but it’s too late. You see them waver, then topple down over the edge. You cry out, but then see then clinging on to the side of a pillar for dear life with their legs. “Yo, w-w-wait! Help! I tripped!”

 

You’re about to race over when you hear a gut-wrenchingly familiar sound. Undyne appears on the other side of the bridge and summons a spear. They don’t seem to have noticed the Monster Kid. You don’t care. Adrenaline and determination pump through you as you race over to the pillar. At first you stick out a hand, but the Monster Kid just looks at you helplessly, and you feel like a jerk. You get down on your knees and grab a hold of their sweater. They’re surprisingly light. They scrabble up the pillar, using your arm as support. You feel them shaking. You’re about to face Undyne when they step in front of you.

 

“Y… y… yo… dude…” Huh? Are they talking to Undyne? They sound completely terrified. What’s going on? They can’t think Undyne is gonna hurt them, right? “If… if y-you wanna hurt my friend… You’re gonna have to get through me, first.” The icy feeling you had before melts away completely. You feel a warmth, like a hot bath, spreading all over your body. It rests in your throat, and you feel tears prickle at your eyes. Your heart starts beating faster, but not out of fear. No one’s ever done something that nice for you. Ever. And they even called you their friend. A… a real friend. A kid like you. And all you did was listen to them and spend time with them. And they just told off their _idol_ for you.

 

Undyne takes a few steps back, then leaves. You’re so overwhelmed by what the Monster Kid just did that you barely notice. They turn to you with a big wobbly smile.

 

“She’s gone… Yo, you really saved my skin.” Honestly, you’d almost forgotten. “Guess being enemies was just a nice thought, haha.” You giggle, and the join you. More like a mean thought. “We’ll just have to be friends instead.” You smile wider than ever and try to tell them with your eyes what you’re feeling. You hope at least some of it gets through. “...man, I should REALLY go home… I bet my parents are worried sick about me!” They start to walk away, then look back at you. “Later, dude!” You wave, still smiling.

 

Wow. A real friend. You have a sudden flash of meeting their parents and going over to their house. Like a real playdate. You don’t actually know what playdates are. Sometimes the kids from the home meet up with other kids from other homes. But that’s not the same, really. You’ve never had a friend with real parents before.

 

You’re at the end of the bridge now. You step into the next room feeling stronger than ever. You’re _more_ than ready to face Undyne and figure out how to beat her. What’s with all these holdups?

 

You walk through two more rooms, and finally come to the opening of a huge mountain. You walk towards it with purpose, then hear a yell.

 

Perched at the very top of the mountain is Undyne. Her hair is blowing in the wind. You’re pretty sure she’s facing away from you. “Seven. Seven human souls, and **King ASGORE** will become a god. Six. That’s how many we have collected thus far.” She pauses, and you take that in. Your heart falls a little. So it’s true. Other humans _have_ fallen down here… and their SOULs are trapped here. Your eyes tighten. You’re putting a stop to that. “Understand?” Not really still, but mostly. “Through your seventh and final soul, this world will be transformed.” You actually understand more now. The stakes are higher. If you lose… it’s _your_ SOUL that causes the world to change. Without you, they can’t do anything.

 

“First, however, as is customary for those that make it this far…” You shudder. You don’t like what that implies. “I shall tell you the tragic tale of our people.” Oh… you _really_ hope she isn’t just going to repeat the entire myth you just read. “It all started, long ago…” Your shoulders involuntarily sag. Then, she pauses. You look up at her, wrinkling your nose. Is she really going to pause throughout the whole story?

 

She turns toward you. “No, you know what? SCREW IT! WHY SHOULD I TELL THAT STORY... WHEN YOU’RE ABOUT TO DIE?! NGAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” There’s a huge flash of light, and when it clears, you realize she’s taken her helmet off. Wow! She… actually has a face! That you can study!

 

She has scaly blue skin and bright red hair, and an eyepatch over one of her yellow eyes. It looks like she’s kind of snaggletoothed, even, but those might just be fangs. Most notably though, she has little fins fanning out from her head where her ears would be. She’s like… a really scary mermaid. Maybe she’s in such huge armor because she doesn’t have legs. She’s also smiling really widely. For some reason, it puts you more at ease to see her face. You’ll be sure to find a way to Spare her. Also, she looks pretty cool!

 

“YOU!” She points down at you unnecessarily. “You’re standing in the way of everybody’s hopes and dreams!” You frown, although you do understand what she means. With your SOUL, everybody’s wish to return to the surface will come true. Unfortunately, you happen to be attached to that SOUL. And you’re determined to keep it. “Alphys’s history books made me think humans were cool… with their giant robots and flowery swordswomen.” Wait, um, what? Humans… don’t have those. What history books is she reading? Is all this a mistake because of weird wrong history books? “BUT YOU? You’re just a coward!” Wait, um, _what?_ Who does she think she’s talking to? You scowl. “Hiding behind that kid so you could run away from me again!” She _better_ not say anything bad about the Monster Kid. She sneers at you. “And let’s not forget your wimpy goody-two-shoes schtick!” She puts on a mocking voice. “Oooh! I’m making such a difference by hugging random strangers!” Oh… _now_ you get it. She’s mad because she expects you to be mean, but you’re not. You smile. You know how this works.

 

She sneers again. “You know what would be more valuable to everyone? IF YOU WERE DEAD!!!” Your eyes widen involuntarily. You’re trying not to be scared anymore, but that’s pretty threatening. “That’s right, human! Your continued existence is a crime!” Well, that sounds pretty dystopian. “Your life is all that stands between us and freedom! Right now, I can feel everybody’s hearts pounding together! Everyone’s been waiting their whole lives for this moment! But we’re not nervous at all. When everyone puts their hearts together, they can’t lose!” You realize she’s actually hyping _herself_ up. You remember what you read in the story about human SOULs being incredibly powerful. That’s right—to her, you’re actually incredibly dangerous. She’s fighting for her people and herself here. “Now, human! Let’s end this, right here, right now. I’ll show you how determined monsters can be! Step forward when you’re ready! Fuhuhuhu!”

 

For some reason, talking to Undyne is actually really cool. It’s making her more relatable. Humanizing her or something, for lack of a better word. Before, she was just a scary suit of armor chasing you. Now she’s a determined warrior fighting for her people. You can see how Papyrus and the Monster Kid look up to her. And a small part of you hopes that maybe, someday, you can actually be friends with her, just like Papyrus suggested.

 

But for now, you have more pressing matters to attend to. you have to figure out how to get past her without dying. Right on cue, your chest starts swelling. This time, it’s completely expected.

 

_The wind is howling. You’re filled with determination..._


	23. Waterfall Part 11: Undyne Battle!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was an awesome battle! Spear of Justice might be my favorite song. Thanks, as always, for your comments! It really motivates me! Hope you like this chapter :)

Wow, it’s… finally happening. You’re about to fight Undyne. And you actually feel pretty good about it. It’s much easier to imagine fighting her when she’s talking and you can see her face. She’s not just a big suit of armor. You take a deep breath and walk towards the opening in the mountain.

 

“That’s it, then…!” Undyne crouches and prepares to spring from the mountaintop. “No more running away! HERE I COME!!!!!!” She lunges at you with her spear, and you very much welcome the ground falling away. Getting your SOUL hit seems a lot less worrisome than your body being hit.

 

Before you can do anything, Undyne swipes her spear over your heart and turns it green. Uh-oh. New battle mechanics. You feel almost… tightened.

 

“En guarde!” She calls. Wow, like a real swordfight! Or… spearfight.

 

 _Undyne attacks!_ The Voice definitely seems hyped up. Your ACT options are Check, Challenge, and Plead. Hmmm… Check first, of course.

 

 _UNDYNE — ATK 50 DEF 20._ (That’s a lot!!) _The heroine that NEVER gives up._ It sounds like the Voice might be a fan of Undyne as well. You can almost feel their anticipation.

 

“As long as you’re **GREEN** you **CAN’T ESCAPE!** ” Hmmm… there’s some hidden meaning there. What does green mean for battle? “Unless you learn to **face danger head-on** … you won’t last a SECOND against ME!”

 

You soon find out what being “ **green** ” means. You’re stuck in one place and you’re holding a shield of sorts that’s guarding your heart. Trying to move only changes the side that the shield is on. You’ll have to block attacks! Lucky she gave you a shield. She is honorable, after all.

 

Three slow-moving arrows come at you from the top of the box. You block them perfectly with your shield. You realize Undyne is probably giving you a chance to warm up. She’s… really cool. This is gonna be a great battle!

 

 _Smells like sushi,_ the Voice comments. You snort. Oh, gosh. You hope Undyne can’t hear them. Hmmm… should you Challenge or Plead? Um… neither sounds great. But you go for Plead.

 

 _You told Undyne you didn’t want to fight._ (You shook your head.) _But nothing happened._ Darn… maybe you can convince her?

 

“Not bad! Then how about THIS!?” Oh boy. You grab the shield. The arrows are faster now. Two from the top, two from the left, two from the right. You have a feeling you won’t be able to remember the directions after a while.

 

 _Undyne bounces impatiently._ Agh, this is stressful. You Plead again, though you don’t have much hope it’ll work. As expected, the exact same thing happens.

 

“For years, we’ve dreamed of a happy ending…” You’re waiting for her to say something else, but she just goes right into the attack. She’s going to spread this out, huh?

 

 _Undyne draws her finger across her neck._ Wow. That’s intense… but somehow, you still think it’s really cool, even though she’s trying to kill you. You definitely see why she’s so respected. Hmmm… Plead doesn’t seem to work, and you’re _not_ going to Challenge. Looks like you’re just Sparing. Until you find out what else you can do, that is.

 

“And now, sunlight is just within our reach!” The attacks are getting faster now, but that also means it’s more exciting. Whoo!

 

Undyne is bouncing again, according to the Voice. You Spare again.

 

“I won't let you snatch it away from us!” If only she would let you explain to her that that isn’t what you’re trying to do. You do feel like an actual warrior whipping your shield around to block her attacks.

 

She’s still bouncing. You wish the Voice would vary their narration. You hear them grumble. Well, maybe they’ll listen to you now. Spare.

 

“NGAHHH! Enough warming up!” Uh-oh, but also, oh yeah! You whip your shield around in all directions, but suddenly, Undyne swipes her spear in front of you again and turns you red. A bigger spear flies in from the left, and you barely remember to dodge it. Whew! What a sneaky trick!

 

 _Undyne towers threateningly._ Yeah… they’ve got that right. You’re still having a good time though, and you haven’t gotten hit once! ...knock on wood. You navigate to MERCY, but then realize that you can Flee in addition to Spare. Hey, that’s right… you’ve always had that option in other battles, but not in this one. Oh! _As long as you’re_ **_GREEN_ ** _you_ **_CAN’T ESCAPE!_ ** But when you’re red, you can! But… this battle’s pretty cool. Maybe she’ll tell you more about the legends and stuff. And she’ll turn you red again, right? You hesitate, then Spare.

 

“Mercy! Ha!” Undyne scoffs. “I still can’t believe YOU want to spare ME!” It does seem a little condescending when you think about it.

 

Her attack is different now, in accordance with the color of your SOUL. Spears materialize from all around the battle box and shoot at you. You have to move constantly and keep an eye on your surroundings. Luckily, you still haven’t gotten hit.

 

 _Undyne flashes a menacing smile._ Are any of her smiles _not_ menacing? The Voice makes a sound of agreement. You Spare again, even though you’re still red.

 

“But even if I spared YOU…” Hm? Is she gonna continue? Nope, right into an attack. Ack! You get hit, _and_ she turns you green afterwards. Darn.

 

 _Undyne points heroically towards the sky._ Man, you really understand what the Monster Kid was saying now. If you were a monster, she’d really be your hero. Heck, you think she’s cool _now,_ and you’re one of the humans she’s trying to hunt down! You Spare, of course.

 

“...no human has EVER made it past **ASGORE!** ” You don’t like what that implies at all, and you get that cold feeling in your chest. It’s like… the opposite of determination. Did he… kill them? Oof… this attack is super fast. You get hit again.

 

The Voice comments about the smell. You roll your eyes and decide to use an item. Hmmm… AstroFood! The Voice has pretty funny nicknames for your stuff. _You eat the Astronaut Food. Your HP was maxed out._

 

“Honestly, killing you now is an act of mercy…!” ...ack. That… isn’t very cool. She uses a trick attack, with one arrow going really slow while the rest come at you fast. You get hit.

 

Undyne is smiling again. You Spare. You’ve got nothing better to do.

 

She doesn’t say anything this time, and you get hit again. You’ve got plenty of food and stuff, though. You aren’t worried.

 

 _Undyne holds her fist in front of her and shakes her head._ She reminds you of an anime hero, like the brothers who could control metal and their teacher with the crazy hair. Man, she’d be so much cooler if she wasn’t trying to kill you. Spare.

 

Her face twists weirdly. “So STOP being so damn resilient!” Whoa! You’re actually doing well! Awesome! ...but she looks kind of mad.

 

She turns you red at the end of the attack. Okay, here’s your chance… let’s see if this works. You Flee—which you’ve never done before. Your heart grows little legs and starts walking away. You hold in a giggle. _Don’t slow me down..._ says the Voice.

 

Suddenly, you’re back outside. Before she can react, you dash around her and head towards the mountain. You hear her yell, then hear her footsteps. You’re gaining at least a little bit of ground, though!

 

She catches up with you and the ground falls away. Her face is still twisted, and she turns you right back to green. “You’ve escaped from me for the LAST time!”

 

 _Undyne attacks!_ Yeah, and you need to heal. How about some Nice Cream? _Have a wonderful day! Your HP was maxed out._

 

“Alphys told me humans were determined…” Does Alphys know you personally? You’d say you’re pretty determined. Also, who is Alphys? You don’t have much time to ponder. At the end of her attack, you notice an arrow coming at you from the right, but it’s not pointed towards you. Then, it circles around you and comes at you from the left! You barely have time to respond. Whew… this is getting harder.

 

It still smells like sushi, apparently. You Spare.

 

“I see now what she meant by that!” Ha! You’re impressing her, even if it’s begrudging. You even manage to block everything this time.

 

 _Undyne suplexes a huge boulder, just because she can._ She reminds you of that guy with a mustache and huge muscles in the _Fullmental_ anime. That’s something he would do. You wonder if the Voice watches anime. ...wait, that’s a really weird thing to wonder. You don’t even know what they are. They giggle anyway, though.

 

“But I'm determined, too!” The bullets are super fast now, but you block all of them, even the backwards-facing ones. Yeah!

 

Undyne bounces, and you Spare. Nothing new.

 

“Determined to end this RIGHT NOW!” The bullets are crazy, but you’re getting amazing at this. You get hit once, though.

 

It still smells like sushi, and you’re still Sparing. She’s gotta turn you red soon…!

 

“... RIGHT NOW!” Oop… she’s getting really mad. You block everything! ...Spare.

 

“... RIGHT... ... ... NOW!!” Ack… come on… turn you red… you get hit three times. You shouldn’t have gotten so cocky.

 

 _Undyne flips her spear impatiently._ You can relate. Spare.

 

“Ha... Ha…” ...maybe she’d be less tired if she turned you red? The spears are weirdly easy this time around too… Spare…

 

“NGAHHH!!! DIE ALREADY, YOU LITTLE BRAT!” _Brat?_ That’s pretty insulting! ...you can’t believe you’re more affected by that than by the fact that she just told you to die. ...which might happen! Ack! All the arrows are backward and you lose track of what’s happening. You scrape through with 5HP… and she turns you red! Yes! Time to turn your tail and run like heck! _Escaped…_ the Voice mumbles.

 

You tear away into the next room, and you notice a glowing sign of some sort on the wall. You don’t have much time to look at it, though, because Undyne is right on your tail. The ground falls away.

 

“STOP RUNNING AWAY!!!” Um… she didn’t turn you green again, though! So, um, you’ll just… Flee…

 

You sprint away again. Suddenly, your phone rings. You pause in surprise, and you see Undyne come into view… but then she stops. What? Why’s she stopping? Without realizing what you’re doing, you pick up your phone. Gosh, you feel like a teenager.

 

“HEY! WHAT’S UP!?” ...of COURSE it’s Papyrus. You glance back at Undyne. Her lips are pressed together, but she isn’t moving. What’s happening? Is she… honorably letting you answer your phone!? “I WAS JUST THINKING… YOU, ME, AND UNDYNE SHOULD ALL HANG OUT SOMETIME!” You would have laughed if you weren’t so mixed up. “I THINK YOU WOULD MAKE GREAT PALS!” In spite of absolutely everything, you kind of agree. She seems incredibly cool. Cooler than the coolest older kids at the home. “LET’S MEET UP AT HER HOUSE LATER!” Yeah, um, assuming you survive. ...who are you kidding. Of course you’ll survive! Oh… he hangs up. Time to split!

 

She catches you again. “COME BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE PUNK!!” Wow! She sounds like a grown-up! Isn’t “punk” like a cool kid or something? ...well, time to Flee!

 

You finally make it to the next room, and suddenly you’re in a whole new world. Wait! This is Hotland! You remember it from the sign you read. It certainly is Hotland, too. There’s lava everywhere, and the air is super steamy. Wait a minute, what’s that to your left? You barely catch a glimpse, but you realize it’s _Sans_ at a sentry station! ...and he’s fast asleep, or at least pretending to be. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Undyne stop and make an annoyed face, then keep chasing you. Whether he meant to or not, he’s buying you time!

 

You keep running over a bridge into the next room. For some reason, there’s a water cooler in here. You could sure go for some. You hear Undyne behind you, but her footsteps are getting slower. That’s right… Undyne is a fish monster. And she’s wearing a bunch of armor. Isn’t she going to get cooked?

 

“Armor… so… hot…” She pants. “But I can’t… Give up…” She takes one more step, then collapses on the ground. Oh, no! Undyne! Well, she clearly isn’t in any state to fight you, so you’ve got to help somehow. Wait! The water cooler! You run over to it and take a cup of water, then walk back to Undyne, being careful not to spill it. What do you do? You can’t lift her head so she can drink it. You remember hearing somewhere that fish and frogs can absorb water through their skin. Also, when sports players are really hot, they pour water on their heads.

 

Well, here goes nothing. You pour the cup of water all over Undyne’s head. Her skin looks really dry. You hope she wakes up, but you also hope she doesn’t wake up and kill you.

 

She shakes a little bit, then stops. Then she shakes again, and this time she springs to her feet. She looks around, then looks at you. She stares into your eyes. Then… she walks away.

 

You blink. Did you do it? Did you spare her? It seems like you did. Well, at any rate, you want some water. You take a long drink, then walk to the next room. You need a Box or something. Or a shop. You’re exhausted.

 

In the next room, you’re fairly surprised to see a huge white building looming ahead of you. For reasons you’re not entirely certain of, but appreciate nonetheless, you feel your chest swell.

 

_Seeing such a strange laboratory in a place like this… You’re filled with determination._


	24. Waterfall Part 12: Undyne Hangout!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was actually pretty tough to write. It was a lot of copying down the game text (A LOT) and it was kind of repetitive as well. Plus, I couldn't save and come back to it. Oh well. I hope it's good at least!

The next room has a kind of creepy ambience to it. In front of you is a huge white laboratory of sorts. Above you, two soldiers block your way. (Does one tell the truth and the other lies? Ha ha.) You decide to check below you.

 

Ah… you’re immediately washed over with a cool mist of Waterfall air. There’s a hooded figure standing on a flat boat in a river. You walk up to them.

 

“Tra la la. I am the riverman. Or am I the riverwoman…? It doesn’t really matter.” You agree. They’re the riverperson, then. “I love to ride in my boat. Care to join me?”

 

Honestly, you’ve been through a lot. You don’t want to explore Hotland just yet. You want to go back and see Papyrus... and Undyne. You figure she’ll have to at least not kill you immediately after you helped her. Speaking of which…

 

You hold up a finger to the riverperson and call Papyrus. “HEY, YOU SHOULD COME TO SNOWDIN AND VISIT ME! I’VE BEEN WORKING ON A FEW THINGS. A FEW SENTENCES TO STAND AROUND AND REPEAT.” Hahaha! Yeah, like everyone else here who just says the same thing. You’ll head to Snowdin! You hop on the boat, which doesn’t tip or wobble at all, and it starts to glide through the water.

 

The riverperson talks to you. “Tra la la. Remember to take a break every-so-often…” Well, that’s what you’re doing now!

 

You reach Snowdin. “Come again some time. Tra la la.” It must be nice to do what you love all day.

 

You walk down to the town and head to Papyrus’s house. If he isn’t here, you’ll check Waterfall. You have a pretty good idea of where he’d be, because you’re starting to realize that you might know where Undyne’s house is.  

 

Yep… Papyrus isn’t around. Phooey. Back to the riverperson you go! This time the boat grows legs and hops over the water. It still moves pretty sleekly, though.

 

Okay, now you’re near the turtle monster's shop. The scary fish house should be nearby. You hope Papyrus sticks close to you during the hangout.

 

There he is! Angry-sounding piano music is coming from inside the house, and Papyrus is waiting by the entrance. You walk up to him and give a smile that you hope looks confident.

 

“OHO! THE HUMAN ARRIVES!” Papyrus exclaims. You hug his legs, and he pats your head. His eyesockets are even kinder than you remember. “ARE YOU READY TO HANG OUT WITH UNDYNE?” You take a deep breath and nod. You’re ready, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t nervous. Hopefully, she won’t really be able to see you behind Papyrus’s legs. “I HAVE A PLAN TO MAKE YOU TWO GREAT FRIENDS!” Oh? For some reason, you trust him on this.

 

“OKAY! STAND BEHIND ME!” Done. You peek out from the backs of his legs, and he faces the door. Then he turns around. “PSST!” He holds up what appears to be a small bone wrapped with a bow. “MAKE SURE TO GIVE HER THIS! SHE LOVES THESE!” Hmmm… you don’t quite trust him on that one.

 

He knocks on the door. The music stops, and the teeth of the mouth open to reveal… Undyne! The terrifying, heroic warrior that chased you all throughout Waterfall! She’s just standing there, casually, in her doorway. She looks incredibly cool. She’s wearing a black tank top, blue jeans, and tall black boots. Now you know what she reminds you of! She’s like a super-cool babysitter! Sometimes older girls would come around and watch the kids at the home if Teacher or Nurse got sick or had to leave. Some of them dressed like how Undyne is dressed now. You always thought they were the coolest people ever. They played with you all the time and gave you extra snacks. Sometimes they even played video games or watched T.V. with you! It was like Teacher and the older kids rolled into one. Some kids didn’t like them for some reason, but you thought babysitters were the best.

 

Undyne doesn’t seem to have noticed you. She’s smiling widely. You’ve never seen her look so relaxed and… not murderous. “Hi, Papyrus! Ready for your extra-private, one-on-one training?” Um, what? What’s going on? She didn’t sound very secretive or anything. Maybe they have to hide that they’re friends outside of work. That happens on T.V. sometimes.

 

“YOU BET I AM!” Papyrus answers. You’re just starting to wonder how you factor into all this when he continues. “AND I BROUGHT A FRIEND!” Despite how nervous you are, you still feel so good when you get called Papyrus’s friend.

 

He steps aside, and Undyne looks around for you. She must think you’re their height. “Hi, I don’t believe we’ve…” She lowers her eyes and spots you, and her friendly tone dries up instantly. Her smile freezes in place and her eye—the one without the patch—starts twitching. You gulp and hope she doesn’t hear you.

 

There’s a silence. Finally, she grunts through gritted teeth. “Why don’t. You two. Come in?” She disappears into her house. Papyrus hops around, then follows her. Well, no turning back now. You step into the mouth of the fish.

 

Wow! It’s really bright and cheery in here! The floors are blue-and-yellow checked, and the walls are polka-dot. Everything looks well taken-care-of. There’s a fridge, oven, counter, table, and of course, a piano. There’s a door in the back, which must lead to Undyne’s room. Leaning on the wall is a giant sword, which honestly doesn’t surprise you at all.

 

“HERE, UNDYNE,” Papyrus is saying. “MY FRIEND BROUGHT A GIFT FOR YOU, ON THEIR OWN!” You hope Undyne doesn’t notice that you’re blushing. She doesn’t. She’s trying very hard not to look at you.

 

“Uhhh… thanks.” She sounds confused. “I’ll, uh, put it with the others.” She walks over to a drawer next to the sink, opens it, and puts the bone inside. You glimpse dozens of other bones in the drawer.

 

“So are we ready to start?” She’s still pointedly avoiding looking at you.

 

“WHOOPSY DOOPSY! I JUST REMEMBERED!” Oh… no. “I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!! YOU TWO HAVE FUN!!!”

 

All you can do is blink in stunned disbelief as Papyrus proceeds to vault out the window. There’s a lot going on here.

 

You and Undyne look at the shattered window, then at each other.

 

“...So why are YOU here?” She snarls. Um… you hope you don’t have to talk. “To rub your victory in my face? To humiliate me even further?” Ouch. Yeah. That’s probably the worst thing that’s ever happened to Undyne. But you didn’t mean to upset her! You were just trying not to die! Still, you feel bad. In spite of her tough demeanor, she looks pretty hurt. “IS THAT IT?” You shake your head vigorously.

 

“Then why are you here?” She gets a strange look on her face. “Wait, I get it. You think that I’m gonna be friends with you, huh?” She’s sneering at you. You feel an empty feeling in your chest. It’s like the opposite of the feeling you get around Papyrus and the Monster Kid. It’s… unwantedness. You felt that a lot at the home. Especially… especially recently. But you haven’t felt it at all down here yet. It takes you by surprise. “Right???” You give the tiniest nod in the world, and you feel stupid and lame.

 

“Really? How delightful!! I accept! Let’s all frolick in the fields of friendship!” The biting sarcasm somehow hurts more than outright rejection. “...NOT! Why would I EVER be friends with YOU!?” Okay. Outright rejection hurts too. A lot. “If you weren’t my houseguest, I’d beat you up right now!” At least her honor carries over off the battlefield. “You’re the enemy of everyone’s hopes and dreams! I WILL NEVER BE YOUR FRIEND. Now get out of my house!”

 

Your eyes are getting hot and you’re trying not to break into tears when you hear a familiar voice calling from the window. “DANG! WHAT A SHAME… I THOUGHT UNDYNE COULD BE FRIENDS WITH YOU. BUT I GUESS… I OVERESTIMATED HER. SHE’S JUST NOT UP TO THE CHALLENGE.” Ha! Papyrus is a genius! That’s a pretty awesome plan! Couldn’t have done it better yourself.

 

“CHALLENGE!? What!? Papyrus! Wait a second…!” Undyne turns to you. “Darnit! He thinks I can’t be friends with YOU!? Fuhuhu! What a joke!” Yes! It’s working perfectly! You were right to trust Papyrus! “I could make friends with a wimpy loser like you any day!” You’re all prepared to be hurt, but for some reason, you feel like that’s a term of endearment coming from Undyne. “I’ll show him! Listen up, human. We’re not just going to be friends. We’re going to be…” She holds her fists up in the air. “BESTIES.” Honestly, if she pulls _that_ off, you’d be thrilled. You’ve never had anything close to a best friend before. Most of the kids at the home didn’t really talk to you when you weren’t all playing together. “I’ll make you like me so much… you won’t be able to think of anyone else!!! Fuhuhuhu! It’s the PERFECT REVENGE!!” You have to hand it to Papyrus—he sure knows her well enough to figure out her actions.  “...why don’t you have a seat?”

 

Undyne clasps her hands together and puts on a cheery smile. Um… wow. That all actually worked. Well, if she’s going to be your friend… maybe you could look around her house?

 

You wander over to the piano. It’s really pretty and looks well taken-care-of. You wouldn’t have taken Undyne to be a pianist, but you guess everyone’s full of surprises. Undyne sees you looking at it and starts talking. It’s almost like when Papyrus started talking to you casually about Sans’ sock collection when you two were still technically enemies. Huh. Is that a monster thing? Because even though Undyne’s trying to be your friend, you certainly aren’t hunky-dory yet.

 

“One time, Alphys’s… uh, friend??? Came over here. All he did was lie seductively on the piano… and fed himself grapes. I don’t really like that guy. But I admire his lifestyle.” You nod in agreement. Self-love is important. Also, who’s Alphys? Undyne’s mentioned them twice now. You’ve heard that name _some_ where before, but you can’t think where. While you’re thinking, you happen to glance at the window, and Undyne speaks up again.

 

“I can’t believe he leapt through the window like that.” Then she cracks a huge, goofy grin. “Normally he NAILS the landing!” She laughs, and you join her. You’re having a better time than you thought you would! You’ll just try to be the best houseguest ever.

 

You decide to explore the kitchen area. In the sink, you’re delighted to find a teacup in the shape of a fish. That’s adorable! You love how self-aware the monsters are. Would Undyne like that theme park with all the sea creatures or would that offend her? Maybe it’s best not to “breach” the subject. (Because sea creatures breach? The Voice gives a pity chuckle.)

 

Next to the sink is the bone drawer. You open it… and find the Annoying Dog! That pup really gets around. It winks at you. You shut the drawer. Hopefully Undyne didn’t see. You put your hand on the stove, and Undyne speaks up.

 

“This oven is some top-of-the-line MTT thing. But, y’know, as much as technology advances… nothing beats food home-cooked with fire magic.” You nod, like you understand. You do not. You move onto the silverware drawer. There’s forks and spoons and knives… and also nunchuks, spears, and axes. You feel like that’s Undyne-specific and not all-monster-inclusive.

 

She also comments on the fridge. “I hate cold food. So Alphys fixed up my fridge so it heats up food instead! Hot Fridge… the world’s greatest invention!” Sounds pretty similar to a microwave, but that’s still pretty cool!

 

Oh, wait! You know where you heard the name Alphys mentioned! It was the doctor Papyrus said made the colored-tile puzzle that you didn’t really get to try. They must be pretty close with Undyne, because she’s mentioned them a lot.

 

You bet they made this sword, too. Undyne perks up when you approach it. “Humans suck, but their history… kinda rules. Case in point: This giant sword! Historically, humans wielded swords up to 10x their size.” Suddenly, she glares at you. “RIGHT?”

 

Uh… uhhh… you’re pretty sure that isn’t true, but you really don’t want to make her mad when things are going so well. You nod.

 

She smiles. Whew. “Heh, I knew it! When I first heard that, I immediately wanted one! So me and Alphys built a giant sword together. She figured out all the specs herself… She’s smart, huh!?” You nod again. They sound really close. Alphys must be the smart girl to Undyne’s tough girl. Or the older brother’s girlfriend on that anime! The brother was always getting his metal arm broken, and she always had to fix it. You never would have guessed that watching T.V. with the older kids would come in handy!

 

Well, that’s pretty much all there is to see. You walk up to the chair by the table, sit down, and prepare to progress.

 

“Comfortable? I’ll get you something to drink.” You tense up. What would be the best choice? Undyne goes to the fridge and sets out several drink options. Then she turns back to you. She’s still smiling really nicely. “All set! What would you like?”

 

She doesn’t move, so you start to get up to look at them more closely. Suddenly, you hear a whoosh and a crash. Undyne has thrown a spear at the table and cracked it in two. Frozen mid-step, you look at her with your eyes popping out of your head.

 

“HEY!!! DON’T GET UP!!!” You nod furiously and plop back down in your seat. “YOU’RE THE GUEST!! SIT DOWN AND ENJOY YOURSELF!!!” Oh. She’s just being aggressively polite. She goes back to smiling, but she looks a bit stressed. “Um, why not just point to what you want? You can use the spear!”

 

Oh wow, cool! You pick up the spear. It’s surprisingly light. It feels like it’s made of plastic or something. You accidentally swing it way to the left, and the Voice pops up to fill you in. _Undyne. Select?_ Haha, what happens if you select Undyne? You feel confident enough to play around.

 

Undyne furrows her brow. “...are you… Hitting on me????” Oh. Yikes. Not what you meant. Your cheeks start to warm up. You point it at the small white bowl. _Sugar. Goes in tea._ Wait, can you have the whole sugar bowl? That would be great! You love sugar!

 

“That sugar’s for the tea. I’m not gonna give you a cup of sugar! What do I look like, the ice-cream woman? Do human ice-cream women TERRORIZE HUMANITY with ENERGY SPEARS? Are their ice-cream songs a PRELUDE TO DESTRUCTION? IS THAT IT?” A while ago, you might have been scared. Now, you collapse into laughter. Undyne sneers. “That’s what I thought.”

 

The next item is a bottle. _Soda—Sickly yellow liquid._ You guess the Voice isn’t a fan of soda. You aren’t really, either, but you aren’t allowed it very often at the home, so you drink it when you get the chance anyway, just for the novelty.

 

“Oh, soda? Actually, even though you pointed to it, you don’t look happy.” She’s pretty observant. “Heh, that’s fine! I think soda’s gross, too!” Wow, really? All the other kids thought you were really weird for not liking soda. That’s partly the reason you drank it when you could. “It rots your teeth… It rots your mind… IT ROTS YOUR FIGHTING SPIRIT!” That sounds like Teacher and Nurse. Well, except for the last part, of course. But, then… why does she have it? You cock your head to the side. “...huh? Why do I have it?” Suddenly, her face gets super cute and she blushes. Maybe she keeps it around for Alphys! That’s really sweet.

 

Next up is a blue can. _Hot Chocolate—Green cylinder._ You feel like the Voice is being contrary on purpose. You love hot chocolate, though. It’s super yummy. Nurse always makes a big batch whenever you guys come in from playing in the snow.

 

“Oh, you want some hot chocolate? Wait, wait, I just remembered… That container’s empty.” Aw, man. Too bad. “I stopped getting it because it was always a hassle… ASGORE kept getting marshmallows stuck in his beard.” Wait a second. First Undyne was saying that this ASGORE was collecting SOULs, and now he’s a bearded goof that comes around for hot chocolate and gets marshmallows in his beard? Does this guy have a split personality? Whatever’s going on, you want to meet him as soon as you can.

 

The next choice is _Teabox—Blatantly correct choice._ The Voice does have their favorites.

 

“...tea, huh? Coming right up!” She takes a teabag and a pot and fills the pot with water. Then she puts it on the stove and turns a dial. “It’ll take a moment for the water to boil.” The two of you wait. After what feels like way too long, you see steam rising from the pot. “Okay, it’s all done!”

 

She takes the teacup out of the sink and fills it with some hot water, then submerges the teabag a few times. She puts it in front of you. “Here we are.” It’s a lovely yellowish color with curls of steam rising from it. Undyne goes and sits at the other side of the table. “Careful, it’s hot.” You blow on it a few times, but you don’t want to seem too wimpy.

 

“It’s not THAT hot!! Just drink it already!” It’s only slightly less boiling than it was two seconds ago. Ow… it’s burning. But it’s pretty good otherwise. Very sweet and mild. “It’s pretty good, right? Nothing but the best for my ABSOLUTELY PRECIOUS FRIEND!!” Oof. She’s better when she isn’t trying so hard. Then again, it’s better than being chased by her across several rooms. You take another sip. It’s better when it isn’t scalding.

 

“Hey… you know... it’s kind of strange you chose THAT tea. Golden flower tea… that’s ASGORE’s favorite kind.” Oh? More about this mysterious, multi-faceted king. You take a long drink. “Actually, now that I think about it… you kind of remind me of him.” You cough and sputter out some of the tea. Now _that’s_ something you were definitely not expecting to hear! What next? This guy’s married to Toriel or something?

 

“You’re both TOTAL weenies!” _What?_ Nothing makes sense. “...sort of.” Yeah, she’s got some explaining to do. And it looks like she’s about to do just that. She rests her chin on her hand and stares at something in the distance.

 

“Y’know, I was a pretty hotheaded kid.” You definitely know kids like that. You’ve always kind of wanted to talk to them, but you were too intimidated. “Once, to prove I was the strongest, I tried to fight ASGORE. Emphasis on TRIED.” She laughs, and you take another sip of tea, not sure if you’re at the point yet where you can laugh with her. “I couldn’t land a single blow on him! And worse, the whole time, he refused to fight back!” Hey, that actually does sound like you. This whole thing just gets weirder and weirder. What if ASGORE’s secretly a human? Like the Wizard of Oz?

 

“I was so humiliated…” Undyne looks down. It’s strange to hear her talking about herself so honestly, but you feel kind of honored. “Afterwards, he apologized and said something goofy… ‘Excuse me, do you want to know how to beat me?’ I said yes, and from then on, he trained me. One day, during practice, I finally knocked him down.” Oddly, she doesn’t look happy about it. You would never have guessed that Undyne would be _unhappy_ about winning a battle—any battle.

 

“I felt… bad. But he was beaming… I had never seen someone so proud to get their butt kicked!” She’s smiling, and you have to giggle at that. She said “butt.” “Anyway, long story short, he kept training me… and now I’m the head of the Royal Guard!” Wow, so… that’s her whole backstory. No wonder she was so determined to catch you. At least her part in the story makes sense. But you’re still pretty unsure about ASGORE. “So I’m the one who gets to train dorks to fight! ...like, uh, Papyrus.” If it had been anyone else, you would have scowled at them for calling Papyrus a dork. But 1) Undyne could probably beat you, and 2) they’re really good friends. She might even say that to his face.

 

She looks away again. You take another sip of tea. It’s really quite good. “But, um, to be honest… I don’t know if… I can ever let Papyrus into the Royal Guard.” She looks upset about it. You would be too if you were in her position. Making Papyrus sad… you don’t even want to imagine it. But how could Papyrus do stuff like throw spears at a kid? “Don’t tell him I said that!” You shake your head vigorously, but you have to wonder why she’s telling you all this so candidly. Especially when you were literally just enemies.

 

“He’s just… well… I mean, it’s not that he’s weak. He’s actually pretty freaking tough!” You nod again. You’ve seen that firsthand. “It’s just that… he’s… he’s too innocent and nice!! I mean, look, he was SUPPOSED to capture you… and he ended up being FRIENDS with you instead! I could NEVER send him into battle! He’d get ripped into little smiling shreds.” Wow. Undyne sounds like she really cares about him. This must weigh on her a lot. It would definitely bother you if you were in her place.

 

“That’s part of why… I started teaching him how to cook, you know? So, um, maybe he can do something else with his life.” Yeah. That’s really nice of her, actually. She’s really trying her best to help him. You go to take a sip of tea, but you’re all out. Undyne notices.

 

“Oh, sorry, I was talking for so long…” She doesn’t have to apologize. That… that was great. You feel so comfortable now. And to think, you were absolutely paralyzed when you first saw her.  “You’re out of tea, aren’t you? I’ll get you some more.” She seems genuine now, too. Not like she’s forcing herself to be nice to you. She gets up and starts walking over to the stove, but then stops in her tracks. Uh… oh.

 

“Wait a second. Papyrus… his cooking lesson… HE WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE THAT RIGHT NOW!!! And if HE’S not here to have it… YOU’LL HAVE TO HAVE IT FOR HIM!!!”

 

Before you can even begin to understand what she said, Undyne jumps up on the counter and slides all the way to the other side of it, kicking away and crushing everything in her path. With that, the window, and the table, her house is definitely undergoing a lot of property damage.

 

“That’s right!!! NOTHING has brought Papyrus and I closer than cooking! Which means that if I give you his lesson… WE’LL BECOME CLOSER THAN YOU CAN EVER IMAGINE!!!” Oh. Well, that actually makes sense. She’s just being… Undyne-y about it.

 

“Fuhuhuhu!! Afraid!? We’re gonna be best friends!!!”

 

You weren’t afraid when she said that, but what she does next gives you second thoughts. She leaps off the counter and lands next to you. Before your eyes can even widen, she grabs you by the back of your shirt, hoists you into the air, and leaps back to the counter. You can’t help stumbling against her trying to get your balance, but she doesn’t seem to mind. Oh boy. Does Undyne understand that you’re breakable?

 

“Let’s start with the sauce!!” Undyne gets an even more determined look on her face and stomps the ground. Two tomatoes, a carrot, and a banana fall from the ceiling. You’re no chef, but you’re pretty sure some of those things are not like the others.

 

She puts her hands on your shoulders, and you feel a jolt of energy… and a lot of warmth. She’s like the coolest babysitter you’ve _ever_ had. “Envision these vegetables as your greatest enemy! Now!! Pound them to dust with your fists!!”

 

Ah… you can barely reach over the counter, but you’ll do your best for Undyne!! _Strong or wimpy?_ The Voice asks. Strong!! As strong as you can, anyway.

 

You punch the vegetables as hard as you can. You knock over a tomato. You look at Undyne. She doesn’t seem too disappointed. You may have strained something in your arm.

 

“YEAH! YEAH! Our hearts are uniting against these healthy ingredients!” Yeah! You’re a team now! Together, you’re unbeatable! “NOW IT’S MY TURN! NGAHHHH!” Undyne smacks the vegetables as hard she she can. They splatter against the wall and tomato guts fly back into your faces. Well, this is a lot more fun than cooking mac and cheese at the home!

 

“Uhh, we’ll just scrape this into a bowl later.” The… interesting taste of Papyrus’s spaghetti is beginning to make sense to you. “But for NOW!” She stomps the ground again, and a box of spaghetti and a pot fall from the ceiling. Is this causing structural damage? She hurries over to the stove, and you follow. “...we add the noodles! Homemade noodles are the best! BUT I JUST BUY STORE-BRAND! THEY’RE THE CHEAPEST!!! NGAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” She pumps her fist into the air. Aw, you would have wanted to try homemade. But you understand. You always have store-brand food at the home. You bet it isn’t as good as name-brand.

 

She looks embarrassed, though. “Uhh, just put them in the pot.” The Voice asks: _Fiercely or careful?_ You know what to do.

 

You’re so focused in showing off how strong you are that you forget to take the noodles out of the box. It clanks against the empty bottom.

 

“YEAH!!! I’M INTO IT!!!” Yes! She thinks you’re cool! “Alright! Now it’s time to stir the pasta! As a general rule of thumb, the more you stir… THE BETTER IT IS!” You know what? You’re just going to take her word. This is fun. “Ready? Let’s do it?”

 

You grab hold of the spoon and stir as fast as you can. You wish you didn’t have such small arms.

 

“Stir harder!” Undyne commands. You try to obey, but your arms are already getting tired. “HARDER!” You start going crazy. “HARDER!!!!” You’re just smashing the pasta to bits now. Did you guys even add water?

 

“Ugh, let me do it!” Undyne summons a spear and starts bashing the noodles (and the pot) until everything is completely crushed. “Fuhuhuhu! That’s the stuff! Alright, now for the final step: TURN UP THE HEAT!” You’ve never been allowed to use the heat before! This is gonna be awesome! “Let the stovetop symbolize your passion! Let your hopes and dreams turn into burning fire! READY? Don’t hold anything back!!!”

 

You reach over and start turning the dial on the stove to the right. You complete a full rotation! “Hotter!” Really? Flames are already appearing under the pot, but maybe that’s normal. “HOTTER, DARNIT!” Hmmm… the flames are overtaking the entire pot. Your eyes water. But Undyne is expecting you to be strong. “HOTTER!!!!!!!” Okay, now the flames are reaching the top of the stove. Is this fire magic? “Wait, that’s too—” Oh, no! You leap away, but you’re too late.

 

There’s a flash of bright light and you feel a wave of heat. The next thing you know, everything in the house is on fire. Undyne’s face is black with soot. At least the tomato goop got steamed off your face. You feel really, really bad though. But… she doesn’t look that upset? You shift your feet. You hope she doesn’t kill you.

 

“Ah. Man, no wonder Papyrus sucks at cooking.” Despite everything, you have to giggle. Undyne turns toward the stove, then back to you. “So what’s next? Scrapbooking? Friendship bracelets?” ...ugh. You don’t want to do those things and you feel like Undyne doesn’t really, either. “...oh, who am I kidding. I really screwed this up, didn’t I?” What? _She_ screwed up? This was awesome! ...as long as she doesn’t mind that her house is on fire. But this was great! “I can’t force you to like me, human.” Well, that’s true, but you like her when she’s just being her. Not when she’s forcing herself to act nice. “Some people just don’t get along with each other. I understand if you feel that way about me.” But… you like her fine. And it doesn’t sound like she doesn’t like you! Uh. How do you fix this? “And if we can’t be friends… that’s okay. Because… if we’re not friends…”

 

Uh-oh.

 

“IT MEANS I CAN DESTROY YOU WITHOUT REGRET!”

 

The ground falls away and you almost choke on your breath. No! Not this! You were so close! You don’t want to fight her! You were almost friends for a minute there! You almost feel like crying. What are you supposed to do? Can the Voice help?

 

At least she isn’t in her armor this time.

 

“I’ve been defeated… my house is in shambles… I even failed to befriend you. That’s it. I don’t care if you’re my guest anymore.” She looks very dangerous. You can’t even really blame her. “One final rematch! All out on both sides!!! IT’S THE ONLY WAY I CAN REGAIN MY LOST PRIDE!!! NOW COME ON! HIT ME WITH ALL YOU’VE GOT! NGAHHHH!!”

 

In a way, you’ve got to do this. She’s hurting. If you don’t fight her, she can’t regain her pride. But… maybe you can still ACT your way out of this.

 

 _Undyne is letting you make the first attack,_ the Voice informs. Ah! Awesome! Under ACT, there’s Fake Attack. You hope she doesn’t call your bluff…!

 

 _You pretend to swing at Undyne with all your might._ You also hope she can’t hear the Voice…!

 

The screen goes white as you swing, and a health bar appears over Undyne’s head. The number “1” shows up above it. Wow! 1 damage against Undyne! That’s, um, pretty good!

 

Undyne stares at you. “What. That’s the best you can manage?” You try your best to look tough. You do have a good poker face. “Even attacking at full force… you just can’t muster any intent to hurt me, huh?” She pauses, then grins. “Heh, you know what?” She drops her spear, and you feel your heart take a leap. “I don’t actually want to hurt you either.” You feel that warm feeling that you get around Papyrus and Monster Kid, and your eyes start to prickle. Gosh, you’re such a crybaby! “At first, I hated your stupid saccharine schtick, but… the way you hit me just now, it… reminded me of someone I used to train with.” Doesn’t take two guesses to figure out who she’s talking about. Your ears perk up. “Now I know you aren’t just some wimpy loser. You’re a wimpy loser with a big heart!” Haha! You’ll take it! “Just like him…” She pauses again. You’re anxious to see if she’s going to discuss him. “Listen, human. It seems that you and ASGORE are fated to fight.” If Undyne says it… you believe it. “But knowing him… he probably doesn’t want to. Talk to him. I’m sure you can persuade him to let you go home.” Hm. Undyne was all “oh, ASGORE’s gonna take your SOUL” back when you were fighting. But now she thinks he might let you off. Does she know something Toriel doesn’t? She’s got to. She’s known him since she was a kid! There’s definitely still a story here, though.

 

She keeps talking. “Eventually, some mean human will fall down here… and I’ll take THEIR soul instead.” You don’t really like the idea of anyone’s SOUL being taken, but you guess you have to save your own skin when it’s you on the line. “That makes sense, right? Fuhuhu. Oh, and if you DO hurt ASGORE… I’ll take the human souls… cross the barrier… and beat the hell out of you!” You’re not even a little scared. (Well, maybe a teensy bit.) “That’s what friends are for, right?” The two of you laugh. “Fuhuhu! Now let’s get the hell out of this flaming house!”

 

Oh, gosh! She said a real swear! She really is a cool kid. Or babysitter.

 

She grabs your hand and leads you out the door. Her hand is cool and smooth, kind of like a snake. You feel very safe.

 

Flames are coming out of the fish-house’s “eyes,” and it looks like it’s crying. Oh well. Maybe a waterfall will douse it.

 

“Well, that was fun, huh? We’ll have to hang out another time! But, uh, somewhere else I guess. In the meantime, I guess I’ll go hang with Papyrus. So if you need me, drop by Snowdin, OK!? OH! And if you ever need help… Just give Papyrus a ring, ok? Since we’re in the same spot, I’ll be able to talk too! Well, see ya later, punk!!” She’s even got a nickname for you! Your heart begins to swell.

 

Maybe you should call Papyrus and let him know she’s coming. Or you can hear as she arrives. But that won’t be for a while, right? You call anyway.

 

“THAT’S UNDYNE’S HOUSE. IT’S A GREAT PLACE TO… UHHH?” Uh-oh. Is he okay? “Huff… puff…” That’s Undyne! Wow! She really is amazing! Did she just get there? “YEAH!!! That’s MY HOUSE!!!”

 

“HI UNDYNE! HOW’D YOU GET HERE SO FAST?” He seems mostly unfazed.

 

“I ran.”

 

“WOWIE!!! UNDYNE!!! SOMEDAY I WANT TO BE AS STRONG AND SWEATY AS YOU.” They hang up. As good as it feels to have friends, it also feels great to see other people being friends.

 

As you walk into the next room, you can’t help but snort as your chest swells. You feel like it’s a bit… out of place.

 

_You feel a calming tranquility. You’re filled with determination..._


	25. Hotland Part 1: Quizzin' with Alphys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi yes I know I'm sorry it's been a weird lull. Please don't hate me, I do appreciate y'all!!

You decide to take the riverperson’s boat back to Hotland. You’re actually pretty excited about exploring now; Undyne’s spirit has rubbed off on you.

 

As you float along the river, you think about what Undyne said about Asgore. You figure that if he’s really the kind of person she says he is, you’ll probably be able to talk to him and explain your situation. After all, no one would describe Undyne as fuzzy and goofy, and you still managed to make friends with her. In fact, all the monsters you’ve met have been pretty nice after you’ve gotten to know them a bit more. You figure it’s more their being kind than your being personable. Maybe everything is just a huge misunderstanding. Now you want to meet King Asgore more than anything.

 

The Voice gives you a little start by letting out a hum. You wish you could ponder more about them, but you’ve arrived back at Hotland. You wave at the riverperson, and they give you a friendly nod.

 

Whew. You forgot how hot Hotland was. You’re glad your first destination appears to be indoors. But something tells you that you should go and see what’s up with the two guards in black armor that are preventing you from going up a different path.

 

You walk up to the one on the right, who has dragon wings on his helmet. He doesn’t say anything. A kindred spirit. You turn to the other one, who has bunny ears on his helmet. “Sorry… Undyne, like, told us there was totally a human in the area.” Oh… yeah. You guys were enemies up until ten minutes ago. “So, like, us Royal Guards are blocking off the elevators for now. Ngah! Even if the elevators aren’t working anyway, we’ll do our best, Ms. Undyne!”

 

Wow, those guards are super loyal! But maybe you can call Undyne and ask them to move? ...oh, yeah, and they didn’t realize you were a human. As usual.

 

You dial Papyrus’s number, and Undyne answers. “What!? Royal Guards are blocking the way!? Then I’ll tell them to…!” She pauses. “Well, nothing, I guess. I already told them to seek out and destroy you!” ...well, what’s a little competition between friends? “And I can’t just tell them I’ve changed my mind. You see, Alphys showed me these animations about… Uhhh, humans? So I can learn their weaknesses?” Wow, really? You kind of want to watch those. Are they monsters’ version of scary Halloween cartoons? “And one of them is about this human that, uh… Well, suffice to say, they can control people’s minds!!! Surprised? I know your kind’s hidden power!” 

 

You  _ are  _ pretty surprised. It’s news to you, at least. Wait a minute… do you have latent mind control that you don’t even know about? Is that why all the monsters are becoming friends with you? You’re just about to start doubting everything when the Voice lets out a snort. You take that to mean that maybe the more realistic explanations is that Alphys’s “animations” may not be entirely truthful. “Anyway, I told my crew that if I ever defended a human… I must be under some kind of mind control! And to disregard EVERYTHING I tell them! So, sorry… but my hands are tied. By the way, that animation is really good!” She hangs up.

 

Well, her reasoning makes sense, even if it’s a bit convoluted. You turn back to the bunny guard. He huffs. “Like, NO WAY you’re getting by us. But, between you and me… I think you could go through that creepy lab over there.” He pauses, then jerks his head. “Between you, me, and my bro here, I mean. I tell him ALL my secrets.” You giggle a little, but that actually seems pretty sweet. They remind you of a few of the older kids at the home. They always called each other “bro” and talked like they were surfers or something. All the “bros” teased each other a lot, but they all seemed to be really good friends. You wish you had a bro.

 

Suddenly, you get an idea. Some of the bros at the home would do a thing called a “fist-bump” when they met someone new. What if…

 

You look up at the guard again and hold your hand out in a fist. Without hesitation, the guard kneels down and bumps his armor-clad fist against yours. You’re slightly surprised by how cool it is. You want to keep your own cool around the bro-guard, but you can’t help it. You jump up in the air and clap your hands.

 

The guard stands back up. “Peace out, little bro!” Wow! You’re a real bro now! You’re sure if the bros back at the home had a leader, this bro would be it. And now you’re  _ his  _ bro! Does that make you second-bro-in-command?

 

The Voice huffs a little. You sigh, flash a peace sign to the guard (that’s the cool bro way to wave goodbye) and start walking towards the lab.

 

The doors automatically open for you, and you’re greeted with a rush of more temperate air. It’s very dark, and you can barely make out a bluish-green color tone and clean linoleum floors. You start walking forward and notice something blinking. When you’re close enough to see what it is,  _ you  _ start blinking. It’s the biggest T.V. screen you’ve ever seen… and it’s showing…  _ you?  _ The Voice seems just as surprised.  _ It’s you…?  _ The background on the T.V. screen looks like the same colors as the lab. Is it some kind of security camera?

 

You keep walking, a little more cautious now. You bump up against a desk, but it’s too dark to see near the walls. 

 

Suddenly, you hear a noise like a panel sliding up, and you see movement in front of you. The lights turn on and you blink even more in the sudden brightness. Standing a few feet in front of you is a bright yellow, person-sized lizard wearing a white lab coat. You aren’t sure why, but you get the feeling it might be this Alphys that you’ve heard a bit about. She’s friends with Undyne, right? And she’s some kind of scientist or something?

 

Alphys(?) starts walking toward you, then looks up and stops in her tracks. She blinks twice, then hurries forward and stops before she gets too close to you. Her eyes go wide, and you notice she has very long eyelashes. She’s kind of cute in a nerdy way.

 

She holds the sides of her head with her claws. “Oh. My god.” Her tone doesn’t sound scared or angry. If anything, it’s… excited? She starts hopping around anxiously. “I didn’t expect you to show up so soon!” Oh! You were expected? You would have called, if you had her number… “I haven’t showered, I’m barely dressed, it’s all messy, and…” She keeps fretting, and you kind of feel like you’re in a teenager movie and you’re taking her on a date or something. Haha, that’s weird. But funny.

 

Finally, she stops hopping around. “Ummm… h-h-hiya!” You give a small wave, and she inhales sharply. You wish you knew how to make her less nervous. In any case, though, it seems like it’s not going to be hard to befriend her! She might be the first person you don’t have to fight. ...knock wood. 

 

“I’m Dr. Alphys. I’m Asgore’s royal scientist!” Wow, you were right! And she is a scientist! You think it’s cool that she and Undyne are close. They’re pretty different. “B-b-but, ahhhh, I’m not one of the ‘bad guys!’” Oh, jeez. You aren’t sure how to respond to that. “Actually, since you stepped out of the Ruins, I’ve, um… been ‘observing’ your journey through my console.” Wait… really? You suddenly remember way back to when you first left the Ruins and saw a video camera in a bush and behind Papyrus’s station. That must have been her! “Your fights… your friendships… everything!” You feel a bit violated, but at least you don’t have to try and explain everything to her. “I was originally going to stop you, but… watching someone on a screen really makes you root for them.” So she’s already gone through all the phases you had to go through with Papyrus and Undyne. That explains why she doesn’t seem like she’s going to fight you. But, wow, you’re kind of like a T.V. show hero now!

 

“S-so, ahhh, now I want to help you! Using my knowledge, I can easily guide you through Hotland! I know a way right to Asgore’s castle, no problem!” It occurs to you that she may be pretending in order to get you to let your guard down, but you quickly dismiss that thought. From what you’ve heard about her and from what you’re seeing now, she doesn’t seem like that type. 

 

But then she pauses for a second. “Well, actually, umm, there’s just a tiny issue.” Of course. Things can’t ever be  _ that  _ easy for you. “A long time ago, I made a robot named Mettaton.” Mettaton? That sounds like a robot from a show you used to watch when you were younger. They turned into cars and trucks and made explosions. ...Uh oh. Does that mean what you think it means? “Originally, I built him to be an entertainment robot. Uh, you know, like a robotic T.V. star or something.” You don’t know, really, but you nod. “Anyway, recently I decided to make him more useful. You know, just some small practical adjustments.” Sigh. You know what’s coming at this point. Anti-human stuff? The Voice giggles. You aren’t quite as amused. “Like, um… anti… anti-human combat features?” Ooof course. Right on the money.

 

Alphys continues frantically. “O-of course, when I say you coming, I immediately thought… ‘I have to remove those features!’ Unfortunately, I may have made a teensy mistake while doing so. And, um… now he’s an unstoppable killing machine with a thirst for human blood?”

 

Half of you thinks,  _ this  _ again? You’ve dealt with a battle-ready skeleton and a super-determined fish lady, what’s a robot? But the other half thinks… Papyrus was tougher than Toriel. Undyne was tougher than Papyrus. ...An unstoppable killing machine with a thirst for human blood might be tougher than Undyne. And half of  _ that  _ half of you thinks… you’re just a kid. Why do monsters seem to think all humans have the same capacity for battling? You aren’t ready for the Terminator! Well, actually, fighting the Terminator sounds pretty cool. But still.

 

“Ehehehehe…” Alphys laughs nervously, snapping you back to unfortunate reality. “Heh. But, umm, hopefully we won’t run into him!”

 

There’s a silence. You’ve seen enough human-bloodthirsty robot action movies to know what’s probably going to happen.

 

You hear a loud bang. Alphys looks around.

 

Another bang, louder, that shakes both of you a little bit. “Did you hear something?” She asks.

 

A series of increasingly loud bangs that shoot both of you into the air a little bit. “Oh no.”

 

A white light fills the room. You hear a crash, and then…

 

“OHHHH YES!” A metallic, robotic voice sings out. Definitely more melodious than the guy who played the Terminator. But still kind of chilling. “WELCOME, BEAUTIES…”

 

The lights come on—or, rather, a single spotlight comes on and points at a hole in the wall. Standing in front of the hole is what looks to be a giant rectangular metal box with two wiggly arms and a single wheeled leg. ...huh. You expected something a little more threatening. 

 

“...TO TODAY’S QUIZ SHOW!!!!” Oh, it’s going to be one of  _ those  _ robots.

 

Suddenly, two multicolored disco balls, a glowing banner reading “GAME SHOW,” and a hail of confetti come down from the ceiling. “OH BOY! I CAN ALREADY TELL IT’S GONNA BE A GREAT SHOW! EVERYONE GIVE A BIG HAND FOR OUR WONDERFUL CONTESTANT!”

 

Mettaton claps its white-gloved hands and a spiral of confetti falls on your head. “NEVER PLAYED BEFORE, GORGEOUS?” Despite yourself, you feel flattered. Though you feel like that’s just his M.O.. “NO PROBLEM! IT’S SIMPLE! THERE’S ONLY ONE RULE.” Is it something like “win or die?” “ANSWER CORRECTLY… OR YOU DIE!!!” You watch too many robot movies.

 

The ground falls away, and suddenly you find yourself in a battle.

 

_ Mettaton attacks!  _ The Voice supplies. Alphys is standing to Mettaton’s side, looking nervous. You ACT as usual. The only options are Check and Cry. You’ve definitely felt like crying before, but now? Not really. You Check.

 

_ Mettaton 10 ATK 999 DEF.  _ The Voice sounds pretty surprised, and you can’t say you aren’t too.  _ His metal body renders him invulnerable to attack.  _ So, like the Mad Dummy. Good thing you don’t attack anyway.

 

“LET’S START WITH AN EASY ONE!!” Mettaton slides to the side. Some words flash next to him.  _ What’s the prize for answering correctly?  _ Four options labeled A, B, C, and D appear in the battle area. A is Money, B is Mercy, C is New car, and D is More questions. Ack! There’s a time limit!! Hmmm… well, if you answer correctly enough, you’ll get Mercy, right? You guide your heart to B.

 

Suddenly, you feel a huge shock. “HAHAHA, YOU WISH! WRONG!” Alphys looks scared, and you feel pretty caught off guard. 

 

_ The quiz show continues.  _ Gosh, that took half your health! This is no joke. Suddenly, you  _ do  _ feel like crying. Against your better judgement, you select Cry.

 

_ Screaming is against the rules,  _ the Voice admonishes you. But… you wanna.

 

“HERE’S YOUR TERRIFIC PRIZE!” It’s the next question:  _ What is the king’s full name?  _ Oh, you know this one! You hope it isn’t a trick question or a middle name you don’t know yet.

 

Nope, you’re good! A is Lord Fluffybuns, B is Fuzzy Pushover, C is Asgore Dreemurr, and D is Dr. Friendship. You guide the heart to C.

 

“CORRECT! WHAT A TERRIFIC ANSWER!” Mettaton holds a hand to his head, and Alphys gives you a thumbs-up. Phew.

 

_ Mettaton.  _ The Voice states. You, um, agree. You Spare. Nothing else to do.

 

“ENOUGH ABOUT YOU. LET’S TALK ABOUT ME!”  _ What are robots made of?  _ A: Hopes&Dreams. B: Metal&Magic. C: Snips&Snails. D: Sugar&Spice. You hate that nursery rhyme, but you know those aren’t the answers. And Mettaton definitely isn’t made of hopes and dreams. You choose B.

 

“TOO EASY FOR YOU, HUH????????????????”

 

_ The quiz show continues.  _ You continue to Spare.

 

“HERE’S ANOTHER EASY ONE FOR YOU!” Suddenly, the text is tiny.  _ Two trains, Train A and Train B, simultaneously depart Station A and Station B.  Station A and Station B are 252.5 miles apart…  _ Oh  _ no.  _ Your heart drops. You can’t do math! You’ve barely started school! The timer is already counting down. What are you going to do?! You only have 10 HP left, and you’re not even going to be able to  _ read  _ all that, let alone do the math!

 

Frantically, you look at Alphys and notice that she’s making the letter D with her hands. Has she been doing that the whole time? You immediately choose D.

 

“WONDERFUL! I’M ASTOUNDED, FOLKS!”  _ Whew.  _ You let out a breath.

 

The Voice has nothing new to say. They seem horrifically bored. Well, jeez, this isn’t boring for  _ you!  _ Spare.

 

“DON’T ‘COUNT’ ON YOUR VICTORY…”  _ How many flies are in this jar?  _ A jar with a bunch of black dots swarming around in it appears. You surreptitiously glance at Alphys, who signs A. (The four answers are 54, 53, 55, and 52. There’s no way you could have told the difference.) 

 

“CORRECT! YOU’RE SO LUCKY TODAY!!!” You hope he hasn’t realized what Alphys is doing… Spare.

 

“LET’S PLAY MEMORY GAME.” _Which monster is this?_ It shows a picture of half the face of a monster. It looks like Froggit, which is A, but Alphys is signing D, which is… Mettaton? You frown, but choose D. You couldn’t have gotten those other two, so you trust her. Maybe this is a trick question.

 

“I’M SO FLATTERED YOU REMEMBERED!” The image zooms out to show that it’s Mettaton with a Froggit shirt on. You frown harder. Now  _ that’s  _ dirty. Spare.

 

“BUT CAN YOU GET THIS ONE???”  _ Would you smooch a ghost?  _ The only options are Heck Yeah. Alphys narrows her eyes. What’s Mettaton going to do, call Napstablook and embarrass you? Whatever. You choose B: Heck Yeah. You notice the timer is counting up, not down. 

 

“GREAT ANSWER! I LOVE IT!!!!!!!” You sigh and Spare. How long is this going to go on?

 

“HERE’S A SIMPLE ONE.” Uh oh.  _ How many letters in the name Mettaton  _ um, eight, right? Then, suddenly, the n starts repeating, climbing all around the battle area. The answers increase rapidly as well. You look at Alphys. She signs C. 

 

“OF COURSE THAT WAS EASY FOR YOU!”

 

You’re  _ almost  _ as bored as the Voice. Almost. Spare.

 

“TIME TO BREAK OUT THE BIG GUNS!!” Hmmm. What’s bigger than that stupid train one?  _ In the dating simulation video game “Mew Mew Kissy Cutie,” what is Mew Mew’s favorite food?  _ Dating simulation? That sounds weird. Why would you simulate a date? You’re about to look at Alphys, but she suddenly starts talking excitedly and waving her arm.

 

“OH! OH! I KNOW THIS ONE!!! IT’S SNAIL ICE CREAM!!!!!!!!!” Ugh, that sounds disgusting. But maybe Toriel would like it. ...wait, why is Alphys answering? She’s gonna get you in trouble! “IN THE FOURTH CHAPTER EVERYONE GOES TO THE BEACH!!! AND SHE BUYS ICE CREAM FOR ALL OF HER FRIENDS!!!! BUT IT’S SNAIL FLAVOR AND SHE’S THE ONLY ONE WHO WANTS IT IT’S ONE OF MY FAVORITE PARTS OF THE GAME BECAUSE IT’S ACTUALLY A POWERFUL message about friendship and…” Alphys slows down and gets quiet, then finally trails off. Aw, she seemed really excited. But… Mettaton.

 

“ALPHYS, ALPHYS, ALPHYS.” He chides. That’s an unsettling way for a robot to talk to its creator… “YOU AREN’T HELPING OUR CONTESTANT, ARE YOU?” Alphys shakes her head unconvincingly. “OOOOOOH!!! YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME. I’LL ASK A QUESTION… YOU’LL BE SURE TO KNOW THE ANSWER TO!” There’s something very mischievous in Mettaton’s tone. Alphys starts biting her nails. What’s going on?

 

_ Who does Dr. Alphys have a crush on?  _ OH! Gosh! Alphys is making “don’t-do-it” motions with her arms, but you have to pick  _ something…  _ the options are A: Undyne, B: Asgore, C: The human, and D: I don’t know. Hmmm… obviously Alphys won’t tell you the answer. Wait a minute… Alphys and Undyne spend a lot of time together, don’t they? And Asgore is her  _ boss _ . Is it…

 

You move the heart to A, and Alphys turns so red you can see it in the colorless battlefield, then hides her face behind her hands.

 

“SEE, ALPHYS? I TOLD YOU IT WAS OBVIOUS. EVEN THE HUMAN FIGURED IT OUT.” Oh  _ gosh.  _ She really  _ does?  _ That’s actually really cute! Undyne said so many nice things about her! Why haven’t  _ they  _ gone on a date? “YES, SHE SCRAWLS HER NAME IN THE MARGINS OF HER NOTES.” Kids  _ your  _ age do that! “SHE NAMES PROGRAMMING VARIABLES AFTER HER. SHE EVEN WRITES STORIES OF THEM TOGETHER… SHARING A DOMESTIC LIFE.” ... _ awww!  _ That’s so sweet! Alphys still looks really embarrassed, though. “PROBABILITY OF CRUSH: 101 PERCENT. MARGIN OF ERROR. ONE PERCENT.”

 

Mettaton slides back to the center. “WELL WELL WELL. WITH DR. ALPHYS HELPING YOU… THE SHOW HAS NO DRAMATIC TENSION! WE CAN’T GO ON LIKE THIS!!” So… is it gonna stop, or is he gonna fight you? “BUT. BUT!!! THIS WAS JUST THE PILOT EPISODE!! NEXT UP, MORE DRAMA! MORE ROMANCE!!! MORE BLOODSHED!!!” Ugh… please, no. Your HP is already tanked. “UNTIL NEXT TIME, DARLINGS…!!!” Mettaton’s arms and wheel retract into his body, and he goes shooting off through the ceiling.

 

It’s just you and Alphys back in the lab. “...Well that was certainly something.”

 

Something or not, you need some HP. Maybe you’ll head back to Snowdin. You’re just starting to walk away when Alphys catches up to you.

 

“Wait, wait! Let me give you my ph-phone number. Th-then… maybe… if you need help, I could…” You proudly take out your phone and hand it to Alphys. Her eyes bug out. “Wh… where’d you get that phone!? It’s ANCIENT!” Hey, that’s not nice! You did get it from the Ruins, though. It probably is pretty old. “It doesn’t even have texting.” You  _ would  _ like to text, actually. “W-wait a second, please!”

 

Alphys scurries off with your phone and you hear some banging, whirring, and screaming noises. She scurries back a second later. “Here, I upgraded it for you!” Wow! It looks super cool. There are no buttons anymore, just a touchscreen. It’s a lot thinner, and all your options (including texting!) are displayed on the shiny screen. It’s even got a key chain! And what are these new options? “It can do texting, items, it’s got a key chain… I even signed you up for the underground’s No. 1 social network!” Wow! Kids your age weren’t allowed on social networks at the home. This is awesome! Not only is Alphys not attacking you, she’s helping you out! “Now we’re officially friends! Ehehehe. Heheh…” Alphys has a weird expression, and her eyes shift back and forth. “I’m going to the bathroom.” She hurries off to the door she came in through earlier.

 

Huh. Maybe she got embarrassed again. You notice she didn’t stutter at all when she was telling you about your new phone. 

 

You poke around the lab a bit. There’s a half-full bag of dog food and a fridge filled with instant noodles and soda. (Is that why Undyne had soda?) You decide to take some noodles. There’s tons of them, and you love instant noodles.

 

On her desk, there are a bunch of figurines. One is a female human with cat ears. Is that still a human? The computer is showing a puzzle in Snowdin, and next to the keyboard is a teacup in the shape of a yellow lizard filled with soda. Aw, that’s cute! Like Undyne’s fish teacup. There’s also a bunch of dirty dishes and notes written in chicken-scratch.

 

You step out of the lab and back into the heat of Hotland, and immediately feel that swelling. This time, the reasoning seems different because of what you know about the lab.

 

_ Seeing such a strange laboratory in a place like this…  You’re filled with determination. _


	26. Hotland Part 2: Exploring the Lab

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't realize this would be so short! Underestimated my save points. Oh well... I accidentally added some extra content because I needed healing items and forgot to explore the lab I MEAN i totally intentionally did that to lengthen this chapter...
> 
> Thanks as always for your reviews!! And if you have suggestions make sure to tell me!

Before you head back through the lab, you decide to stock up on some Bisicles from Snowdin. They were cheap and barely took up any space in your pockets. You can say hi to Papyrus and Undyne, too!

 

At the shop, you buy a bunch of Bisicles (you have so much money now!) and organize your boxes, which you have two of now. You’ve got plenty of room, and you feel a lot more confident! After everything is in order, you run up to Papyrus and hug his legs. He laughs. Undyne laughs too, and ruffles your hair.

 

“I’M SO GLAD YOU AND UNDYNE ARE FRIENDS NOW. YOU TWO GO TOGETHER LIKE PASTA AND BURNING!” You laugh, then wave to Undyne. You still feel a little shy around her, but she seems totally relaxed.

 

“Hey, punk! What’s up!?” Is “punk” her super-cool nickname for you? You’ll take it! You shrug, trying to seem unbothered and nonchalant. She starts to nod, but then screws up her nose and sneezes. “A-ACHOO!” _Bless you,_ you hear the Voice say. You’re so surprised you forgot to say it yourself. Since when do they just butt into conversations like that? ...Not that you’re complaining, though. You like their company. “Papyrus, how can you stand this cold?” She didn't seem to hear the Voice, so why'd they even say anything?

 

“I HAVE NO SKIN,” he explains simply.

 

“So why don’t we stand in Grillby’s instead?” Imagining Papyrus in Grillby’s seems weird. He doesn’t really seem like the type to hang around there.

 

“BECAUSE I HATE GREASE,” Papyrus replies.

 

“But you don’t have a stomach!!” ...how does he eat spaghetti then? Does he just cook it to give to other people? That’s very on-brand for Papyrus.

 

“NO, BUT I HAVE STANDARDS!!!”

 

You giggle and wave goodbye, then hop back on the boat to Hotland. Once you get back to Alphys’s lab, you realize there’s a second level you haven’t explored yet. It’s not blocked off by a door or anything, so you aren’t snooping… right? The Voice makes a noise of encouragement, and you nod. To who, you aren’t sure.

 

The escalator-thing is so fast you almost lose your balance, but you have fun racing up it. You wish there was an escalator at the home.

 

Yeah, this definitely seems like Alphys’s bedroom or living area. The first thing you see is a row of bookshelves arranged by color. You check out the light green one first. It’s just scientific books that seem pretty dusty. The dark green bookshelf has a book labeled “Human History.” _Read it?_ The Voice asks. You nod and flip to a random page. It’s a comic of a giant robot fighting a beautiful alien princess. This looks more like _Teen Titans_ than human history. Well, _Teen Titans_ is technically a part of human history, isn’t it? It’s a part of yours, anyway. Staying up to watch reruns was awesome. Your favorite character was Raven, ‘cause she didn’t talk much. You hear the voice make a noise of agreement, and it takes you a moment to realize what that means. ...did the Voice watch _Teen Titans_ too? What?

 

You wait, but they don’t make another sound. Oh well. At least you have the same favorite character. Everyone else liked Beast Boy, but you thought he was kind of annoying.

 

Anyway, the next shelf is yellow and has DVDs and VHSes of a bunch of cartoons. They’re all labeled “Human History,” but you think you recognize the box art of at least one of them. It’s _The Last Unicorn._ You guys used to get to watch that sometimes. It’s still not really something you’d classify as “Human History,” though.

 

The blue shelf is another shelf of “Human History” books. The Voice prompts you, but you were going to open one of them anyway. It’s a comic book. Two scantily clad chefs are flinging energy pancakes at each other. ...okay, nope, you’ve never even seen anything remotely like this. Darn it, you should have watched T.V. with the older kids more.

 

Wait a minute. Do monsters think all this stuff is actual human history? That would explain why Undyne thinks so many weird things about humans. And Alphys and Undyne both recognized you as a human immediately. Alphys didn’t seem worried about you at all, though, so why did Undyne? It doesn’t really make sense, but there’s definitely something happening there.

 

The last bookshelf is red, and again, it’s all “Human History” books. You open another comic book, and it’s a hideous android running to school with toast in its mouth. Seems like it’s late. You’ve definitely seen humans running to school with toast in their mouth in anime, but that’s not even close to a human. Sigh.

 

Next to the bookshelves is a line of tools hanging on a block of wood. And on the ground… no way. You can’t even remember the name of it now, but when you were _really_ little, you used to watch this show about these weird creatures with T.V.s on their stomachs. They had a kind of vacuum robot that cleaned up for them and they were always eating this pink stuff from a machine. This thing in Alphys’s room looks like it’s dripping that stuff, and the machine that’s making it looks like the vacuum robot. That’s so weird. That show’s for babies. Why is Alphys watching it?

 

Alphys’s work table is really dusty, and there’s some tools and blueprints on it. Above it is a huge picture of a cat girl flashing peace signs. Looks like something from an anime. Maybe once you get to know Alphys better, you can show her that anime with the two brothers. That one was your favorite.

 

You take a peek in the wardrobe, even though it seems a little nosy. It’s full of dirty lab coats… and a single clean dress. That makes you sad. She doesn’t even have any comfy clothes.

 

Next to the wardrobe is a table with a lamp and a stack of letters on it. The letters are signed from a bunch of monsters—you notice Froggit, Snowy, and Doggo—and they’re all unopened. Huh. Maybe it’s fan mail? You never get letters. If you got any you’d open them right away. Did she forget about them or something? That’s weird. Also, the lamp has no lightbulb.

 

Last is the bed, which seems to fold up into an easy-to-draw box. How helpful. On your way out, you notice a poster for what looks like Mettaton’s T.V. premiere. On the flap, in gorgeous cursive, it reads “Thank you for making my dreams come true.”

 

You touch the note, feeling strangely upset. Alphys was telling the truth; he really was created to be an entertainment robot. He must have been so grateful to her. She’s probably really upset that he’s out to get you now, and she can’t even destroy him.

 

With that last thought still pressing on you, you stumble down the escalator. Time to explore the rest of Hotland.

 

As soon as you walk out of the lab, you hear a little chime and your phone lights up. Oh! That’s right! Alphys signed you up for that social network. You eagerly check the notification. _ALPHYS updated status. “just realized i didn’t watch undyne fight the human v.v”_ Oh, cool! She even uses emoticons! It’s still a little weird that she was watching you the whole time, but it _does_ make you feel like a hero, kind of. You’re a celebrity now! You think about commenting, but before you can even open the chat box, your hands start shaking and you’re worried you’ll drop the phone. You shove it back in your pocket. Another time.

 

You’re just rounding a corner when the chime sounds again. _“well i know she’s unbeatable i’ll ask her abt it later ^.^”_ Uh… well, you technically didn’t _beat_ her. You just ran away from her. Maybe if you’d tried to fight her you wouldn’t have been able to beat her.

 

A few steps later, your phone chimes again. You could probably read all these later, but it’s so cool to be on social media! And now you have a new (and social-media-official) friend to check up on! _“for now i gotta call up the human and guide them =^.^=”_ Wow, that’s a pretty advanced face. And yay, she’s going to guide you! But doesn’t she know you can read these? Oh, wait, she’s probably telling the rest of her friends. Maybe less people will attack you now! Man, Alphys is great.

 

The next room has two moving walkways, one going forward and one going backward. You hop on the one going forward, and after a few seconds the ground falls away.

 

 _Vulkin strolls in,_ the Voice comments. Aw, this monster is adorable! It looks like a tiny volcano with a heart-shaped mouth. Your ACT options are Check, Encourage, Criticize, and Hug. Well, Check before anything as always.

 

 _VULKIN — ATK 25 DEF 0. Mistakenly believes its lava can heal people._ Uh oh… that’s really sweet, but it might spell danger for you. Even the Voice sounds a little pitying.

 

 _“Speed will help dodge!”_ Its attack is a thundercloud with lightning bolts raining down. Ah! You’re moving too fast to control yourself well! You get hit once. This might be trouble.

 

 _Vulkin is wiggling its weird rump._ Hey… that’s not nice. Although, as you look at it, it does look pretty weird. But why does the Voice call it a “rump?” That’s weird by itself. You hear them grumble.

 

Anyway. Hmmm, what to do? You know hugging will probably get you hurt, despite how cute Vulkin is. And you don’t want to encourage its delusions. Do you actually have to criticize it? You select it, feeling pretty bad.

 

 _You tell Vulkin that its attacks are NOT helpful._ You shake your head, trying to look firm, but not mean. The Voice is taking on a pretty good tone for the occasion.

 

_“Ahhhh… Not… helping? Ok….”_

 

Aw, it doesn’t even attack! _Vulkin stands in the corner._ The Voice sounds like it’s mad at you. Hey, you didn’t mean to hurt its feelings! Maybe Encourage?

 

 _You tell Vulkin it’s doing a great job. Its attacks become extreme…_ the Voice sounds apologetic. Good, they better be! You don’t have any idea how to deal with this.

 

 _“Ahh! Ahh! Does my best!”_ This time the attacks are fireballs from two peaks at the side of the box. You get hit once again.

 

 _Vulkin parades around you proudly._ They sound defeated. So are you. Should you hug?? Well, it’s the last option. Oh, wait, you can Spare it now! Whew, finally.

 

_YOU WON! You earned 0 EXP and 40 gold._

 

You ride out the rest of the walkway without incident. As you step off and start walking, you get another chime. _“gonna call them in a minute!!! =^.^=”_ You’ll be ready when she does! Maybe she’s waiting for you to hit a fork in the road.

 

Oooh, now the walkways are a little more complicated. They run into each other and go in different directions. Cool! You feel like you’re on a ride.

 

Whew! That was fun! As you enter the next room, you feel a familiar swelling.

 

_The wooshing sound of steam and cogs… it fills you with determination._


End file.
